Energy expert, Roger Lilley admits that 2022 was the worst on record, almost five times worse than 2021. Lilley has highlighted that unless Parliament acts, South Africa is still going to be in the dark.
In a parliamentary meeting, departing Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter announced:
There could be some relief from power cuts next month as 3,000 megawatts will be added to the grid from neighbouring countries by March 2023.
According to de Ruyter, the imported electricity will supply extra capacity that is equal to three stages of rolling blackouts.
The power utility has been advocating for at least three years, and it has managed to secure additional imports from our neighbouring countries.
The financial constraints are a result of non-paying municipalities, breakdowns, theft and sabotage at its plants which are costing Eskom over R57-billion and also contributing to the energy crisis faced by South Africa.
In 2022, National Treasury had committed to take over as much as two-thirds of Eskom’s debt. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is expected to share more details on this when delivering the National Budget Speech on 22 February 2023.
