Rolling blackouts: Eskom needs to clarify Stage 10 speculations

10 May 2023

The DA in the Western Cape calls on Eskom and the Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, to clarify speculation that South Africa may soon be moved to higher stages of rolling blackouts as approximately half of the power utility’s generation capacity is offline as a result of breakdowns.

Concerns among residents are justified as South Africa is currently on stage 6 rolling blackouts, and higher stages such as stage 10 will be devastating, not only for the Western Cape, but for South Africans across the country.

Minister Ramokgopa and the Acting CEO of Eskom, Calib Cassim, are expected to appear before the Western Cape’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Energy Crisis on 24 May 2023. We trust that it will be a fruitful engagement and that they will provide a transparent overview of the current state of the grid.

In the coming weeks, the Ad Hoc Committee will also engage with municipalities across the province to gain insights into the work they’re doing to make the province loadshedding-free.

It is paramount that all role players are transparent and honest about the state of the grid and their energy resilience initiatives. If South Africa continues down the road of relentless, higher stages of rolling blackouts our country is doomed.

Issued by Christopher Fry, DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Energy, 10 May 2023