Embattled power utility Eskom says it cannot guarantee that loadshedding will soon be a thing of past. However, Eskom Chairperson Jabu Mabuza vows that measures have been put in place to avoid a total blackout.
He’s been speaking in a media address alongside Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, appealing to South Africans to understand the nature of the challenges the power utility face.
“In the crisis mode that we find ourselves, we would have to look at those skills that are critical and essential. We are allowed to provide for a certain load factor using diesel. We have exceeded outside the acceptable level, but in meeting the demand to try and avoid a total blackout we do believe we are still very far from that point. If the demand continues to be outside the equilibrium it’s going to collapse the system,” says Mabuza.
Eskom board chairperson Jabu Mabuza, has stressed the importance of addressing power utility challenges speedily.
“We do understand we need time, but not only time, because speed is of essence now, where we need to respond in an emergency way to address these. Firstly, we had to acknowledge that our communication could have been better. We are committing ourselves from today in a spirit of being fully transparent, that we are intending to stay in that course to make sure we provide accurate, timeous and reliable information about how we are going forward.”
