Eskom says its power grid remains stable with no load shedding anticipated during the festive season.
CEO Andre De Ruyter says due to the poor reliability of the system there is always a risk of load shedding, however, at this point the outlook is positive.
“Typically demand is always very low over the festive season. After the 16th when the holidays start, demand drops down as well. In fact today we were able to put two units on cold reserves. What that means is that we have excess generation capacity which is a very unusual position for Eskom to find itself in. But we’re grateful for that, which means that we’re in good shape for the festive season.”
Eskom says it will lease land around its power stations in Mpumalanga to private businesses that will produce up to 100 megawatts of their renewable power, without needing a license from the National Energy Regulator.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says this will give the investors access to the grid and transmission lines that have already been established.
Eskom says it has also begun to expand its transmission grid on an urgent basis in the Northern and Eastern Cape. Gordhan made the announcement during Eskom’s virtual financial results presentation.
“These are going to be projects that are going to be funded by the private sector itself in whatever combination and no state guarantees will accompany these projects, which means there’s no burden on the fiscus itself. And there are a number of other provisions that are in preparation which will ensure that Eskom itself is a beneficiary rather than a bearer of costs of this important project.”
Speaking at the power utility’s six months financial results presentation on Wednesday, De Ruyter warns of Eskom further losses for the financial year:
