Eskom's R800 million per month diesel bill is unsustainable, DA reiterates call for Eskom to be declared a State of Disaster
17 May 2022
Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbites in English and Afrikaans by Kevin Mileham MP
The announcement by Eskom Chief Operations Officer Jan Oberholzer that the power utility has burned through 40 million litres of diesel so far this month, and that diesel shortages may result in further, more extensive loadshedding highlights the urgent need for government to heed the DA’s call for Eskom to be declared a State of Disaster.
At a time when diesel is in short supply in South Africa and refining capacity is at an all-time low, 40 million litres represents more than R800 million that could have been utilised to add new generation to the grid. Instead, it is being used to prop up Eskom, which is increasingly unable to keep the lights on.
The latest information from Eskom indicates that the power utility has 1 904MW offline for planned maintenance and a further 17 255MW offline from unplanned outages. This represents approximately 37% of Eskoms’s total installed capacity.