The Public Enterprises Department has issued a statement strongly condemning Eskom board member Busisiwe Mavuso’s reported comments blaming the African National Congress (ANC)-led government for the ‘mess’ at Eskom during a Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) oversight meeting.
A video posted online appears to show Mavuso walking out of a boardroom.
Reports say she left the meeting after expressing concerns that Eskom management was being blamed for the political interference by the governing ANC that led to the problems at Eskom. Some reports say she was asked to leave after making the comments.
Public Enterprises says in a statement that it is unfortunate that Mavuso brought party political issues into the oversight meeting and it is giving the matter serious consideration.
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Eskom suspends rolling blackouts
Eskom said they have suspended rolling blackouts from 10pm on Friday.
The power utility said in a statement that it should return a number of power stations to service at the weekend, including Arnot and Majuba.
Eskom had implemented stage two rolling blackouts more than a week ago, ramping them up to stage four amid heavy rains in many parts of the country.
Eskom spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha, warned that the system remains constrained and has appealed to people to conserve power.
He says, “Eskom expects to return to service nine generation units during the weekend. These are a unit at Hendrina and two generation units each at Arnot, Duvha, Majuba and Tutuka power stations.”
“The low weekend demand will assist in replenishing emergency reserves. This, together with the reduced weekend demand, will enable Eskom to suspend load shedding at 22:00 tonight.”
