Ramokgopa says Eskom won’t compromise on load shedding to keep SA’s lights on

JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says Eskom will not cut corners to deal with frequent power cuts in South Africa.

Ramokgopa was speaking during a media briefing in Pretoria on Sunday, where he gave an update on the state of the country's power crisis.

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He said the utility would not compromise on planned maintenance, as it had long-term benefits in reducing the frequency of the rolling power cuts.

Ramokgopa said ramping up planned maintenance was a calculated risk that the utility would continue to carry out.

He said the country was plunged into stage six load shedding this week as a result of unexpected breakdowns, while a significant number of generating units were already offline for maintenance.

As it stands, there 7,000 megawatts that are unavailable due to maintenance.

"We must do everything that is right, even if the intensity of load shedding is above the summer plan. We must make sure that we do things right."

Currently, the country is at stage five load shedding following the return of two generating units.

The minister said that the implementation of lower load shedding stage can be expected from Wednesday.