Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, recently highlighted the need for Eskom to improve the reliability of its generating units in order to maintain the credibility of its efforts to reduce load shedding.
Speaking at the Arnot Power Station in Mpumalanga, the Minister acknowledged the progress made in reducing load shedding, but also acknowledged the setback caused by the boiler tube leaks that resulted in the outage of 11 units.
Ramokgopa stated that the units are currently being repaired and are expected to be back in service over the next two months. However, he also stressed the need for additional generation capacity, particularly from renewable energy sources.
He revealed that Kusile Power Station Unit 2 is expected to be operational by the third week of November, and Unit 5 by the third week of December.
Additionally, Ramokgopa highlighted the importance of investing in transmission infrastructure to support the integration of renewable energy into the grid.
He stated that the financing for this rollout is estimated to cost over R390 billion, and the government is in the process of presenting a proposal to Cabinet to tap into private sector liquidity.