The Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan had an urgent meeting with Eskom’s Board members, including the board’s Chairperson, Mpho Makwana. This follows serious concerns about the risk of higher levels loadshedding in the coming months.
It has been confirmed that government is currently engaging with Eskom, in finding a solution for loadshedding. In a statement, Gordhan has announced:
The department is urgently working with the National Treasury and Eskom to find the money to buy supplies of diesel.
The department has engaged the power utility on savings within its funds for the ongoing purchase of diesel and maintenance.
Additionally, the department will have discussions with Eskom on the assessment of the Board on the challenges Eskom faces in the current fleet of power stations and the interventions that ought to be made to create more reliability in the performance of these power stations.
According to Gordhan, the department is also urgently seeking the assistance of all the enforcement bodies to immediately put an end to the local level disruptions and criminal activities which impact on power stations.
The department will also engage Eskom in making sure that its officials are made more aware of the importance of a reliable electricity system to the economic and social well-being of the country and all that live in it.
Makwana has shared that Eskom has created a new committee to zoom in specifically into all the critical challenges. These efforts are being made, following months of South Africa experiencing fluctuating loadshedding.
