South Africa posts continuous improvements in electricity supply

South Africa has recorded continuous improvements in its electricity supply, with 40 consecutive days without rolling blackouts, marking the best performance in the last two years, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said Monday.

Updating the media on the progress of the Energy Action Plan, Ramokgopa attributed the improvement in power supply to structural changes within Eskom, the country's power entity, which has recovered 1,000 megawatts compared to the same period the previous year.

In May 2023, unplanned capacity loss increased from 16,800 megawatts to about 18,000 megawatts. However, as of April 26, 2024, unplanned outages have been reduced by about 4,400 megawatts from the previously experienced 15,500 megawatts, Ramokgopa said.

The aggressive rollout of solar photovoltaic by both industry and households, supported by tax incentives, has boosted the power supply, he said.

Ramokgopa disputed accusations that the improvement in electricity was related to the upcoming elections, saying "You do not earn and recover five percentage points of unplanned capacity loss suddenly because a date of an election has been announced. It is a result of process mapping in engineering terms."

The minister added that the country's biggest challenge in ending the energy crisis is ensuring that Eskom addresses the issue of unit failures.