Mineral Resources and Energy minister Gwede Mantashe says that his department is working on a number of interventions to address the current energy supply challenges facing South Africa.<\/p>\n
Responding in a written parliamentary Q&A, Mantashe said this includes procurement under the government’s Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme – commonly known as ’emergency power’.<\/p>\n
Mantashe said that the seven key interventions which will help address the power crisis are as follows:<\/p>\n
Eskom has warned of increased demand peaks, and a higher chance of ongoing load shedding during the evening peak period (17h00 to 22h00) throughout the winter.<\/p>\n
The power utility implemented stage 2 load-shedding on Sunday evening because of 10 unit breakdowns at seven power stations.<\/p>\n
The breakdowns included three generation units at Tutuka, one unit at Majuba, one unit at Kriel, and one unit at the Matla power station.<\/p>\n
There were also trips at a unit each at Medupi, Kusile, and the Duvha power stations.<\/p>\n
South Africa was hit by the worst year of load shedding on record in 2020. Data published by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in March shows that 2020 saw 859 hours of load shedding.<\/p>\n
The most intensive load shedding was seen before the Covid-19 lockdown, which accounted for 63% of all load shedding seen in 2020. Most of this was stage 2 load shedding, the research body said.<\/p>\n