Eskom gets tariff hike while Ramaphosa ‘deeply regrets’ Stage 6 rolling blackouts

The South African government, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, is exploring “urgent measures that can be undertaken in order to mitigate against the impact of load shedding”, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said on Thursday afternoon.

In a hybrid media briefing on the President’s public programme, Magwenya said Ramaphosa was engaged in critical meetings on the current energy crisis, some of which were scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

This comes after the country was plunged into darkness after power utility Eskom announced the implementation of Stage 6 load shedding  “continually until further notice” due to severe capacity constraints on Wednesday.

Eleven Eskom generators, providing 5,084 MW of capacity, are said to have been hit by breakdowns since Tuesday morning.

Visit Daily Maverick’s home page for more news, analysis and investigations

The elevated level of load shedding coincided with the reopening of schools in the inland provinces of Free State, Gauteng, North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Magwenya said Ramaphosa “deeply regrets” the current energy situation.

“The president acknowledges the frustration of households, parents and learners who have commenced the school calendar year facing power shortages. The devastation to small businesses and adverse impact to the economy remains severe for SA’s recovering economy.”

The latest power crisis comes as households, businesses and municipalities scramble to reduce their dependence on Eskom by installing generators or, increasingly, solar-powered backup systems.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Dark, Dumb and Dangerous: Inside South Africa’s perfect (electrical) storm”

On 15 December last year, Ramaphosa convened a meeting of the National Energy Crisis Committee, composed of ministers and various technical workstreams, said Magwenya. At the meeting, Ramaphosa is said to have acknowledged the progress made in dealing with the energy crisis.

“He further demanded more urgency and speed in the implementation of all priority areas and actions laid out in the national energy plan,” said Magwenya.

In some municipalities, Stage 6 rolling blackouts mean up to 12 hours a day without electricity.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Humanitarian crisis looms in Karoo as Eskom institutes load reduction on top of rolling blackouts in defaulting municipalities”

Magwenya reiterated that the President remained committed to finding a sustainable solution to the crisis.

“Despite the current  gloomy state of load shedding, the National Energy Crisis Committee workstreams have continued to make progress in several areas aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the grid and finding additional megawatts.”

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) on Thursday granted Eskom an 18.65% tariff hike to help cover its burgeoning debt. Eskom had asked for 32%. However, the utility will get a further 12.74% in April 2024.

President ‘alive to the pain’

“The president is alive to the pain of having to pay more from a consumer perspective for power that is intermittent in its availability. As we continue to drive solutions around the sustainability and reliability of the grid, we hope that pain will be alleviated.”

Magwenya said Ramaphosa would not interfere with the process around tariff hikes.

“The President cannot interfere with that process because it is a statutory process. [While] Eskom does need the money, the President is mindful of the severity of paying more for electricity they do not have.

“Having said that, we need to sustain the funding of Eskom from multiple sources, including the users, in order to enable Eskom to fund its maintenance; to fund its various programmes that are currently under way.

“There’s a balance that has to be maintained,” said Magwenya. DM