Is South Africa finally out of it’s load shedding darkness? Minister of Energy and Electricity Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has told the National Assembly that the country could experience a pleasant summer season this year with no load shedding forecast.
Ramokgopa made the disclosure in a response to a written question asked by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Omphile Maotwe about whether Eskom's turnaround has truly ended load shedding.
Maotwe asked: “Whether, in light of the fact that Eskom coal power stations have gone through intense maintenance in the past 18 months, load shedding has now completely been stopped, if not, should the Republic still expect load shedding in due course, if so, what are the relevant details.”
Ramakgopa said that since the start of the year, Eskom’s plant availability has been improving, aided by a reduction in unplanned losses.
“Generation has been able to maintain the unplanned losses below 14, 000 megawatts throughout the winter period while leveraging the improved performance to conduct additional short-term Planned Capacity Loss Factor (PCLF),” he said.
According to Ramakgopa, South Africans might enjoy a load shedding free summer as increased energy availability leads to a season without disruptions.
“The generation fleet is showing more reliable performance going into the summer of 2024 commensurate to 2023.”
He said all the indications suggest that the current performance was sustainable throughout the summer of 2024.
“We will continue to drive efforts to implement the coal fleet with new generation capacity in line with the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP),” said Ramokgopa.
Although he did not detail plans to end load shedding, he said that Eskom’s fleet would include converting Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGT) from diesel to gas and shifting from open to closed-cycle systems.
Eskom is currently experiencing its longest load-shedding-free days since late 2020, with 128 consecutive days without implementing load shedding, marking the longest such period since the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
When Eskom reached 100 days without load shedding on July 5, Bheki Nxumalo, Group Executive for Generation, attributed the achievement to the effective implementation of recovery plans and the relentless dedication of Eskom’s 40,000 skilled employees.
“If we maintain a 70% Energy Availability Factor (EAF) and add significant capacity within the country, we can ensure adequate available capacity to meet demand without a significant risk of load shedding,” said Nxumalo.
Eskom Group Chief Executive, Dan Marokane added: “Considering the intensity and the levels of load shedding in 2023, the ability to get to 100 days without load shedding is significant, while acknowledging that the risk of load shedding still exists.”
IOL