Risk of national blackout 'very low' - Ramaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa says even though South Africans need to prepare for a dark winter, the possibility of a grid collapse remains "very low".
The president was speaking during the Presidency's budget vote in Parliament on Wednesday.
The president's warning comes as the country is once again experiencing consecutive days of stage 6 load shedding.
"We face a difficult winter ahead, as demand increases and several units at Medupi, Kusile and Koeberg power stations are currently under repair and remain offline," Ramaphosa told MPs.
"These six units alone represent approximately 4 500 MW of capacity, or between four and five stages of load shedding.
"The situation will improve as we return these units to service towards the end of this year. Until then, our best hope of limiting the severity of load shedding is to reduce demand on the grid."
Ramaphosa said the government is working hard to keep the lights on despite increasing energy demand this winter season.
"We must reiterate that the risk of a national blackout remains extremely low. There are many safeguards in place to prevent such an incident from occurring. Load shedding allows Eskom to keep the system in balance at all times."
ALSO READ:
