The Eskom Group CEO, André de Ruyter, has presented a bleak picture of the country’s power supply problem.
During a virtual media briefing held between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. today, Sunday, January 23, he and Eskom’s management delivered an update on the current system issues.
Among the most important implications from de Ruyter’s talk were the facts that the Eskom system is restricted and that the remainder of the year would likely be marked by a lack of supplies.
“Capacity that is available for the Eskom system is likely to continue to be constrained, and supply is likely to remain limited for the majority of 2023.”
Regarding the Energy availability factor, de Ruyter stated that it has hit unprecedented lows due to the breakdown of three units at Kusile and unusually high levels of planned maintenance, which are essential for restoring the supply’s integrity.
An examination of concerned power plants:
Return of Kusile Power Stations 1, 2, and 3 could take between 12 and 18 months.
The fourth power station at Medupi is slated to come online in September of next year (2024).
By the end of June, Koeberg Nuclear Power Station 1 (replacement of the steam generator) should be operational again.
“I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for the massive and widespread disruption caused by loadshedding to the economy and the daily lives of all our citizens.
This is really sad, and I can assure the nation that the Eskom team is hard at work in partnership with the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) and other government partners, as stated by de Ruyter.
De Ruyter emphasized that it is not all doom and gloom in light of the NECOM’s optimistic assessments.
“We are glad to confirm the National Energy Crisis Committee’s (NECOM) findings that there are an estimated 9,200 megawatts of embedded generating projects registered with Nersa and in various stages of completion. When these projects are connected to the grid, the first of those planned to feed into the grid before the end of the year, he anticipated a significant improvement in the supply situation.
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