‘Load shedding suspension not ploy to buy votes for ANC’ – Presidency

As Eskom celebrates  a continuous period of over 32 consecutive days of no load shedding, the Presidency said there’s no truth to claims that suspension of the rolling blackouts was part of a ploy to buy votes for the African National Congress (ANC) in the lead up to the national and provincial elections.

South Africans have welcomed the extended suspension of load shedding after experiencing unrelenting bouts of power cuts.

Citizens fear that after the election, the rolling blackouts will return with full force and that suspension of the rolling blackouts was just a ploy, with Eskom allegedly accused of being manipulated by the governing party to keep the lights on.

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However, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson has denied this.

“The Presidency rejects claims that recent improvements in the energy supply are a ploy related to the upcoming elections.

“The Presidency will, therefore, like to remind the public the actions taken since President Ramaphosa announced the Energy Action Plan (EAP) in July 2022 have had a direct impact in reducing the severity and frequency of load shedding, which was the primary objective of the plan,” Magwenya said.

ALSO READ: Eskom predicts stage 2 load shedding over winter, stage 5 in worst-case scenario

Winter load shedding

Magwenya said the EAP outlined a multi-pronged strategy to end load shedding, including improving Eskom’s plant performance, accelerating the procurement of new capacity, enabling private investment in electricity generation, and supporting rooftop solar.

“The implementation of Eskom’s Generation Recovery Plan, including increased maintenance and recovery interventions at the six of the worst-performing power stations, together with the return of three units at Kusile have contributed to reduced breakdowns and improved plant performance.”

Watch Magwenya speak on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to end load shedding.

Magwenya says President Cyril Ramaphosa remains committed to reducing load-shedding. @TimesLIVE pic.twitter.com/5IEhre11Ci

— Amanda Khoza – The Journalist (@MandaKhoza) March 1, 2023

With winter coming Eskom, during a media briefing last week, said its projections indicated that even in the worst-case scenario, load shedding during the cold season should not reach stage 6 outages.

Eskom chief executive officer Dan Marokane confirmed that the likely scenario suggested that load shedding would be limited to stage 2 “at most” during this year’s winter season.

ALSO READ: ‘I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true’ – Mashatile vows to end load shedding by end of year