In Quotes | David Mabuza on support for Eskom, avoiding load-shedding & fixing old power stations

04 September 2020 - 09:18 By Unathi Nkanjeni
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Deputy President David Mabuza says SA's blackouts will be a thing of the past as soon as Eskom’s sources of energy become established.  

Answering questions in parliament on Thursday, Mabuza said the government had taken a view that Eskom must be supported to implement a comprehensive turnaround programme.

He said the programme would ensure that the utility developed and enhanced its requisite institutional capabilities to meet the country's energy needs.

Here are five standout quotes from his question and answer session in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). 

Old Eskom fleet

“We must apologise for the continued disruptions in terms of energy supply. This is because of our maintenance challenges. Our people and honourable members will understand that we're dealing with a very old fleet and from time to time it presents operational problems.

“We're confident that with the introduction of Medupi and Kusile into the grid, if everything goes well, gradually it will reduce pressure on the generation of electricity.”

Avoid load-shedding

“Our fleet, our power stations, are very old. The maintenance of such power stations presents a problem as they fail from time to time

“Some units will fail and the leadership of Eskom has said, ‘Yes, we are not going to avoid load-shedding as we implement routine maintenance and as we deal with the disruptions of failure of certain units in the system’.”

Fixing old power stations 

“We are going to see Medupi coming into the system, but we are also opening another window of independent power producers.

“We are expecting more than 2,000MW that will come from that direction. And we hope that will stabilise the pressure that is on the system and give us space to fix these old power stations.”

Support for Eskom 

“Our support to Eskom focuses on ensuring that it strengthens its leadership, governance, and accountability system. Addressing the debt and liquidity challenges, including the payments of debts owed to Eskom by government entities and municipalities.  

“We have programmes to minimise energy disruptions and accelerate the completion of the newly-built programme that will deliver additional energy capacity.” 

No privatisation 

“There is no intention to privatise. The government is the sole shareholder.

“This shareholder has no intention to privatise this public entity. We can rest assured of that intention and commitment.”


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