Ramokgopa apologises to business for unplanned return of load shedding
Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientso Ramokgopa, took to the podium to apologise to business for the return load shedding.
On Tuesday, Eskom announced that Stage 2 load shedding will only be implemented during peak periods, from 4pm to 10pm, until Thursday (May 15).
Ramokgopa told media that the level of outages was due to delayed return of generation units and unplanned breakdowns in the past day or so.
The return of load shedding is now at 2023 levels, said Ramokgopa, noting that 'we have reached that red line' at which Eskom needs to implement blackouts. Stage 2 outages involve disconnecting areas from the grid for as long as four hours at a time.
Data compiled by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research showed that load shedding cost the South African economy about R2.8 trillion in 2023, with more intense rolling blackouts than any other year.
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