Eskom has come under immense pressure, as nationwide rolling blackouts continue to intensify the country’s ongoing energy crisis.
Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, has called for the electricity provider's management and Board to work hard to get the country out of stage six loadshedding with immediate effect.
His orders come just after it was announced that South Africa should brace itself and prepare for stage six loadshedding.
Much to the frustration of many South African businesses and members of the public, loadshedding has reached its highest extent (stage six), and the current situation is likely to get worse.
“I met the board of Eskom yesterday. I have directed them to meet and act with a great sense of urgency in order to ensure that the management of Eskom gets the country out of level six (6) loadshedding with immediate effect,” said Minister Gordhan.
As things stand, stage six loadshedding translates to 4-hour power outages in some areas. In addition to this, roughly 300 employees have been dismissed by the power utility, the outgoing workers include cleaners and gardeners among others.
Both big and small businesses have been hit hard by the strenuous periods of loadshedding, and have reportedly lost billions of Rands as a result.
"Our people are very concerned by the instability that is being caused by stage six loadshedding, in particular the idea that it doesn't look as though those who have been tasked with the responsibility to turn things around (whether they are from Cabinet, whether it's the Board, whether it's Executives), seem to be on top of the problem," said Alan Mukok, CEO of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI).
While load shedding remains at stage six, Eskom says the possibility of further stages cannot be ruled out.
Eskom went from stages 3 and 4 to stage 6 within a matter of hours. The power utility says it needs to shed six-thousand megawatts from the power grid if it hopes to prevent a complete blackout.
“Power-cuts are having a devastating effect on households and livelihoods, investment and economic climate. This is totally unacceptable. The frequency of breakdowns is certainly attributable to some element of malfunctioning within the Eskom systems and possibly sabotage as well, continued Gordhan.
Gordhan says that law enforcement had to be brought to Eskom, to "show a stronger presence" at all power stations, warning that those involved in criminal activities should beware.
"We will not tolerate any activities whose purpose is not in the national interest,” he said.
Eskom's Chief of Operations (COO) Jan Oberholzer ,along with other Eskom top officials, admitted that the power utility is in the worst state in its entire history and that its ability to adequately provide power has long fallen below global standards.
Minister Gordhan ended his statement with apologies to the nation for the interruptions and impact that loadshedding has had on everyone.
“We apologize to the country about the impact and disruptions caused by load shedding and will keep the nation informed about the status of electricity.” concluded Gordhan.
