Too early to celebrate end of load shedding – Ramokgopa

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has urged South Africa not to start celebrating a return to normality after yesterday’s signing of the memorandum of cooperation between the government and eight Chinese energy entities.

The signing has been hailed as a milestone in the efforts to end load shedding and is expected to add an additional 9 000 megawatts to the grid by December.

Speaking at a Sandton media briefing yesterday, Ramokgopa was guarded in his response on whether the partnership would soon spell an end to load shedding.

He praised the Chinese energy companies for their expertise, speed and technology in helping to introduce a turnaround to SA’s crippling energy crisis.

But he refused to provide timelines, saying more work needed to be done to end power cuts. Ramokgopa said ending power cuts meant “having electricity on a 24-hour basis”.

“When I came into office in March, President Cyril Ramaphosa said we were short of 6 000 megawatts (MW) and we have now added 4 000MW to the grid.

“We are expecting to have added another 1 680MW when we brief the nation on Sunday.

“We are going to fire up Kusile in October and will be getting 3 200MW. In total, that will give us over 8 900MW – close to 9 000 by December,” said Ramokgopa.

Reaching 9 000MW, he said, was “far from celebrating”. “But this does not mean we would have resolved load shedding. Once the lights are on, the investor community will think we have resolved the problem.

“Once construction starts at approved projects, load shedding is going to come because of the demand on the grid.

“The first phase is to eliminate what we are going through and I am happy to assure you we are going to meet the target in getting those megawatts.

“But it does not mean we have resolved load shedding,” said Ramokgopa.

“It is important to build sufficient capacity to allow for the country’s economy to grow at a desired rate, with the rate of growth of new-generation capacity surpassing the rate of economic growth.

“That is why you need to accelerate new generation capacity.”

“That is why you need an emergency power solution – like Karpowership – because you need upwards of 12 000MW for the economy to start lifting itself up.

“Otherwise, you are kicking the can down the road and not resolving the problem.

“The South African economy will be constrained,” he warned.

Pressed by journalists to give timelines to end load shedding, Ramokgopa said: “I do not have a date because I talk megawatts and not dates.

“We must not fall into a false sense of complacency by thinking we are going to resolve load shedding now.

“My assignment has been simple – reduce the frequency of load shedding and its intensity, ultimately seeing the end of load shedding.

“I have had to familiarise myself with the performance of various power stations.

“I have visited the Chinese ambassador to South Africa to discuss challenges confronting us on the energy front and there was a willingness to resolve the problem.

“I have then had to visit the energy entities in China by June,” he said.

State Grid Corporation of China chair Baoan Xin described the signing as “quite significant in addressing the power crisis in South Africa”.

“This marks a new chapter of our collaboration and we are ready to work with yourselves in carrying out the terms of agreements signed by our respective state leaders,” he said.