South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, made an announcement on July 2, 2023. He stated that the country is nearing the end of its daily power cuts. Gwede Mantashe attributed this positive development to two factors: improved generation capacity and decreased demand.
The power cuts, locally referred to as loadshedding, have been a major concern for South Africans for several months. They have been caused by multiple factors. These factors include aging power plants, inadequate investment in new generation capacity, and acts of sabotage.
In recent weeks, there has been some relief from the power cuts. One contributing factor is the reactivation of some mothballed power plants by Eskom, the state-owned power utility. Additionally, the demand for electricity has decreased as the country entered the winter season.
Mantashe expressed his expectation that the power cut will be completely suspended in the coming weeks. However, he cautioned that this progress could be reversed if there is a sudden surge in demand or a major outage at one of Eskom’s power plants.
The power cuts are finally coming to an end. South Africans will greatly appreciate this relief. They have experienced frequent outages. These outages have disrupted businesses.
Settlement Expansion Threatens Peace Prospects, Say UK, Australia, and Canada
