Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has big ideas but no power to make them a reality.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing increasing pressure to hand powers to his new electricity minister and enable him to make decisions to stave off more intense blackouts as peak winter demand looms.
State power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. is currently implementing so-called stage 6 load shedding — removing 6,000 megawatts from the grid and effectively leaving residents without power for at least 10 hours a day. In a worst-case scenario, South Africa faces five months of more severe outages — or stage 8 load-shedding — unless there is an intervention, the official said.
Ramokgopa pitched a proposal to the cabinet on Wednesday in which he laid out the options the government must consider to curb the crippling power cuts. They include exemptions for pollution emissions, extending the lifespan of coal-fired power stations, along with sourcing new funding to recapitalise Eskom and procure emergency power.
Ramaphosa’s decision to appoint an electricity minister was widely seen as a way to avoid dealing with ongoing tensions between Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and Mineral and Energy Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe — two of his close political allies — over who has responsibility for energy.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Cabinet set to consider plans to extend life of Eskom plantsElectricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to present proposals to the cabinet on Wednesday
Read more »
Ramaphosa calls urgent Cabinet meeting to discuss new plan for old coal power stations | BusinessPresident Cyril Ramaphosa will chair a special Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to examine a plan by electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to slow the decommissioning of old coal power stations. | News24_Business
Read more »
Taxpayers may bear brunt of continued use of coal-powered stations - BusaElectricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has decided to stall the retirement of these struggling plants in an attempt to boost power supply.
Read more »
To solve load shedding 'we have to be bold' says electricity minister urging (some) privatisation | News24Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is expected to urge the NEC to give the green light to a plan that will see private companies taking over coal power stations. | QaanitahHunter
Read more »
Ramokgopa presents energy plan to Cabinet, wants old Eskom plants to be keptElectricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said that South Africa's commitments to climate change should not be at the expense of the country's economy.
Read more »