Government in talks to avoid return of load shedding

Deputy President David Mabuza is today chairing a task team meeting looking at how Eskom will cope with power demand this winter as the country’s economy reopens.

A statement by the presidency indicates there is likely to be a surge in power demand as industry gets going again, following the slackening of demand during the lockdown.

The statement reads: “With more sectors of the economy likely to open due to the varied imminent [Level 3] lockdown as announced by President Ramaphosa, it is essential to ensure that the power supply will be ready and adequate to handle the increased demand placed on the grid by the economic activity.”

And it notes with winter looming, there will be a requirement for even more power.

“The winter season calls on the task team to plan for the increased power demand for industry as certain sectors open up, and for households as citizens are urged to stay at home to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.”

The statement also noted that one of the items on the agenda included “procurement of additional capacity over the coming months”.

This suggests the current level of capacity is not projected to be sufficient for the rest of the year.

Recently Eskom has had to resort to rolling blackouts in parts of Gauteng, because of what it said was excess power demand caused by illegal connections and ageing substations.

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