Ramaphosa Warns About 'Vulnerable' Electricity System, Future Load Shedding

South Africa marks 120 days without load shedding. However, President Cyril Ramaphosa said it is too early to declare victory, warning that the electricity system remains vulnerable and that load shedding might still happen.

Speaking while presenting the 2024/25 Presidency Budget in Parliament on Tuesday, Ramaphosa told the Members of Parliament (MPs) that the electricity crisis has been a major barrier to economic growth and that the Presidency has played a key role in addressing it.

The National Energy Crisis Committee, set up in 2022 to implement the Energy Action Plan, is chaired by the President and managed at a technical level by the Director-General in the Presidency.

"With the support of the National Energy Crisis Committee, there has been a marked improvement in the performance of Eskom's power stations, which produce the bulk of South Africa's electricity," Ramaphosa said, SA News reported.

He added, "We are going to continue working with companies, financial institutions and business organizations, both South African and international, during the course of our ambitious investment drive over the last five years."

The president said that addressing load shedding, improving logistics, lowering data costs, enhancing water supply, attracting needed skills and ongoing reforms will help to boost the economy in the medium term.

He also mentioned that these reforms aim to strengthen strategic state-owned enterprises by improving their financial health and operations and by encouraging more private investment in infrastructure.

Furthermore, Ramaphosa noted that the government has made significant progress in dealing with corruption and implementing the recommendations of the State Capture Commission.

"This includes the work of our law enforcement agencies to bring perpetrators to justice and to recover stolen funds, as well as the legislative and other changes needed to strengthen the fight against corruption and prevent state capture," the president said.

He added, "The Presidency has forged a close working relationship with the SIU and law enforcement agencies to monitor the implementation of the recommendations for criminal, disciplinary and administrative action arising from SIU investigations."

Eskom earlier this month announced that it will start load reduction in certain areas again because the network is overloaded ahead of winter. However, the electricity company noted that this load reduction won't be the same as load shedding.