About 25 projects to fix load shedding are in construction – Ramokgopa

About 25 projects to fix Eskom's power blackouts issues are in construction, says electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. 

Ramokgopa made the announcement this week, saying projects are under way to upgrade Eskom's infrastructure in the areas of generation and transmission to increase capacity and resolve load shedding.

“The 25 projects can unleash about 13 gigawatts of electricity into the grid. The work starts now to be connected by 2026 to ensure there is additional capacity. We need to ensure we expedite the projects and bring them online quicker so we can expand the grid capacity,” said Ramokgopa.

“These are the twin challenges [generation and transmission] we are facing at the moment and we must resolve to address load-shedding. Of course the issue of distribution must receive attention.”

Ramokgopa said the cold front in Gauteng at the moment will lead to higher demand.

“There's a cold front in the Gauteng area. It accounts for a significant amount of the load, about 25%. It is something that is worrying and you are expecting the demand is going to surge.

“If the improvements in relation to available capacity do not match the increases on the demand side, then the only corrective measure we have is load-shedding. I am hopeful we should be in a position to address that situation,” Ramokgopa said.

Gauteng temperatures this week will drop to 0°C with a maximum of 17°C.

Eskom announced it would reduce load-shedding to stage 1 at 5am on Wednesday.

The power utility attributed the drop in load-shedding stages to improved generation capacity on Tuesday.

“Stage 4 load shedding will be implemented from 4pm today until 5am. Thereafter, load  shedding will be reduced to stage 1 from 5am until 4pm on Wednesday due to a slight improvement in the generation capacity available. This pattern will be implemented daily until further notice. Eskom will communicate should any significant changes occur.”

– TimesLIVE