Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has stressed that higher stages load shedding does not mean a greater risk of a national blackout or a grid collapse.
Ramokgopa was delivering his maiden speech during the budget vote of the Presidency in Parliament on Wednesday.
The electricity minister outlined his action plan increase the country’s energy supply.
Higher stages of load shedding
Echoing President Cyril Ramaphosa and Eskom, Ramokgopa warned that it was going to be a difficult winter for the country.
“The winter outlook indicates an increased risk of supply shortfall against expected demand, with our worst-case scenario indicating that load shedding could intensify to higher stages if our interventions are unsuccessful.”
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Grid collapse
However, he stressed that a total grid collapse was improbable.
“I should hasten to stress that an increase in load shedding levels does not mean a greater risk of a national blackout; instead, load shedding is a tool to prevent such an occurrence by managing the demand for electricity at a given time.
“A national blackout or grid collapse remains highly improbable as multiple safeguards are in place to ensure that it does not occur,” he said.
Hospital exclusion
Ramokgopa also said they have done modelling and would be able to exclude a further 136 hospitals from electricity rationing.
“The Department of Health has identified 213 hospitals for exclusion from load shedding, of which 76 hospitals have been excluded to date, with work underway to exclude a further 46.
“The remaining hospitals have sufficient backup power supply from diesel generators, nevertheless diesel cost remains a major expenditure driver, especially during higher load shedding stages,” he said.
Other interventions
Ramokgopa said other interventions to mitigate higher stages of load shedding by Eskom include importing power from Lesotho and Namibia, while Karpowerships, he said, could reduce the rolling blackouts by two stages.
Ramokgopa said the energy availability factor has improved and currently sits at 54%, predicting that it would be at 65% by early 2024.
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