Electricity and energy minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has praised power utility Eskom for reaching a milestone of 272 days of no load shedding across the country.

Speaking in Pretoria, while outlining the implementation of the energy action plan, Ramokgopa highlighted that as of December 23, the power utility had achieved a significant milestone of 272 days of no power reduction.

This comes as the power utility has been experiencing power supply issues that resulted in frequent power reductions.

Load shedding is an intentional and temporary reduction or interruption of power supply in certain areas, often implemented when electricity demand exceeds the supply available, generation problems or infrastructure repairs.

“Now, on December 23, essentially we are recording another milestone in that we are experiencing the longest stretch of uninterrupted power supply in five years,” Ramokgopa said.

He explained that the milestone was not a celebration of the absence of load shedding, but a recognition of progress towards ending blackouts.

“And like I said, we are not celebrating the fact that we have not had 272 days of load shedding,” Ramokgopa said. “We are simply marking the point in terms of their quest to end load shedding.”

Ramokgopa said it is important that we can take account of these small milestones.

“So, these are small steps that are going to contribute to a giant leap that we want to achieve,” he added.

Ramokgopa also lauded Eskom’s generation team for their efforts, acknowledging that they started with a very low base.

“I think it is important at this point just to applaud the work that the generation team has been able to execute at Eskom. Remember that we started from an exceptionally low base,” he said.

He said while Eskom experienced high intensity of load shedding in 2023, in terms of both the number of days and hours without electricity, the power utility has managed to make significant progress since then.

”We have seen the highest intensity of load shedding in terms of the number of days that we experienced load sharing and the number of hours that the country was subjected to periods of no electricity,” Ramokgopa added.

He linked the generation performance with Eskom’s financial situation, stating that without sufficient generation, the power utility cannot sell electricity or generate revenue.

“If you don't have a product to sell, then you are not in a position to earn any revenue. And we have seen the numbers that Eskom was announcing last week that we recorded a significant loss.”

He, however, added that Eskom is now back on track to achieve a surplus of about R10 billion rands by the end of the financial year.

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Eskom achieves 272 days without load shedding, praised by Electricity Minister Ramokgopa