Eskom awaits presidential guidance on essential load shedding

Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa states that Eskom is awaiting legal guidance from The Presidency following the Pretoria High Court’s decision, which upheld the ruling requiring Eskom to ensure uninterrupted power supply to essential facilities.

Eskom awaiting on guidance

Ramokgopa addressed attendees at Megawatt Park on Monday, providing an update on the implementation of the energy action plan.

According to Eyewitness News, last week, the Pretoria High Court rejected Eskom and the government’s request for permission to appeal a previous ruling issued in December of last year.

The court ruled that implementing load shedding in schools, hospitals, and other essential service institutions is unconstitutional. 

Ramokgopa stated that complying with this ruling would be impractical and unsustainable.

“The manner in which we are expected to execute could be expensive, unsustainable and we wanted to get clarity from the court, some degree of clarity what that judgement meant.”

South Africa takes steps to mitigate Eskom crisis

The energy crisis, lack of government intervention, and the quick decline in costs have led many individuals and businesses to seek uninterrupted power supply through private renewable energy sources.

According to an analysis by The Outlier, there has been a notable shift towards rooftop solar and wind power among private entities over the last few years.

According to BusinessTech, data from the Eskom Weekly Status Report, the installation of rooftop solar has nearly doubled since July 2022.

In 2023, the rate of solar installations notably accelerated, coinciding with the country’s experience of 6 947 hours of scheduled power cuts.

“What you’re seeing in these numbers is households and the private sector taking matters in their own hands,” Wikus Kruger, director of the Power Futures Lab at the University of Cape Town, told Semafor.

“It’s being driven not by government policy per se, but by desperation,” he added.

Gauteng leads the charge in reducing power grid demand through rooftop solar, contributing nearly a quarter of the country’s total capacity. 

From July 2022 to March 2023, its capacity surged from 790.60MW to 1503.70MW. KwaZulu-Natal follows closely, with projections expected to reach 810.90MW by July 2024.

The Western Cape ranks third, experiencing an almost 350% increase in capacity from 145.50MW in July 2022 to an estimated 642.40MW.

Some experts suggest that rooftop solar benefits individual installers and holds the potential for bolstering the country’s overall power capacity.

Some experts suggest that rooftop solar benefits individual installers and holds the potential for bolstering the country’s overall power capacity.