Electricity milestone encourages new government to do more,
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the milestone reached on Friday of 100 consecutive days without loadshedding, is not a reason to relax as the grid still remains vulnerable.
This follows the announcement by Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa on Friday that South Africa reached the longest consecutive period without any loadshedding since October 2020.
Loadshedding was lifted on 26 March following months of persistent power cuts across the country.
The last extended period without load shedding was observed from 08 September 2020 to 11 December 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In his weekly newsletter published on Monday morning, Ramaphosa writes the Government of National Unity (GNU) is committed to continuing and completing the far-reaching structural reforms, to resolve the immediate electricity supply challenges and lay the groundwork for energy security into the future.
"These reforms included the removal of the licensing threshold for new power generation projects, tax incentives for rooftop solar, opening more bid windows for renewable energy projects, and improving Eskom's operational viability.
"The latest milestone reached in the structural reform journey is the commencement of trading last week of the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTSA), which will own and operate the country's national electricity transmission system.
"This forms part of the reforms we have been driving to establish an electricity market that will enable competition, secure supply and revolutionise the energy sector."
Ramaphosa adds that the Government of National Unity will sustain the electricity momentum.
"For us to continue to implement the Energy Action Plan and support the hard-working management and staff of Eskom, who are day by day helping to bring us out of this crisis, we must all pull in the same direction.
"By focusing on the broader picture and by scaling up what has already been achieved, we are in a far better position to achieve the task we have set ourselves: to end load shedding and achieve an energy-secure future.
"We have reached 100 days without load shedding by working together. This should encourage us to redouble our efforts and to strengthen the collaboration between all stakeholders in both the public and private sectors."
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