Ramokgopa: Lower stages of load shedding to return on Wednesday
Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says Eskom had to push load shedding to stage 6 after nine units at several power stations failed simultaneously.
Ramokgopa briefed the media on Sunday amid another round of crippling planned power cuts.
Eskom implemented stage 6 loadshedding on Friday evening.
Read:Stage 6 loadshedding continues as Eskom struggles to return units to service
"Essentially we had nine units that contributed to this 4400 (MW) over a space of two days," said Ramokgopa.
"Its a cluster of these units failing simultaneously and a lot of these units are big units, each unit is generating about 600mw.”
Ramokgopa said his department is not going to cut corners, and the intensified planned maintenance campaign would continue.
"We have taken a calculated risk and I have mentioned that in the efforts to resolve load shedding we are not going to cut corners.
"We will not issue any instruction to the Eskom board, we do not have the intention to do that and the board will not also accept that.
"What is important is that we do things the right way so that we are able to regain these megawatts that have been lost over a period of time as a result of our failure to focus and concentrate on maintenance.”
South Africans can expect lower stages of load shedding to return on Wednesday.
"We are expecting these units that failed on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday to return by Wednesday this week,” the minister said.
"Stage 6 is an outlier, not a common occurrence.
"You do not have to believe me. I always mention that the remarkable thing about the portfolio that I have been assigned where I am working with my team, is your ability to measure the performance of the team is easy.”
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