Another 2,500 MW to be added to grid by end of August - Ramokgopa
Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa confirmed on Monday that Eskom expects to add an additional 2,500 MW to the national grid by the end of August.
Ramokgopa briefed the media on Monday as the country marked more than 130 days without load shedding.
He emphasised that the return of more units to the grid is part of the government's ongoing efforts to tackle South Africa's energy challenges.
Ramokgopa said the additional megawatts will be coming from Medupi, Kusile and Koeberg.
“We are expecting Medupi Unit 4 to give us 800 MW and to fire up Kusile Unit 6, which is another 800 MW. We are hoping to get an extension of the life of Koeberg Unit 2.
“We are not complacent, we are doing everything by the book and we are still optimistic about getting that extension of life, and it will give us an additional 980 MW.”
The minister cautioned that, while there are major improvements at the power utility, Eskom is still facing difficulties.
“I really want to caution that load shedding is not behind us. In the next three weeks or so Eskom will be sharing what the summer outlook is. We are still buoyant about the performance of these generation plants.
“Having said that, we need to caution against any early declaration to decree load shedding as behind us. We do everything possible to resolve this question but the numbers do indicate that we are within touching distance,” he said.
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