Eskom official says it could take a year or more to end load shedding

Source: Reuters/Esa Alexander

"We have various plans in place, I believe very good plans...however this is going to take time to implement," Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer said, adding: "For the next 12 months or so we may not see the required benefits."

Oberholzer told a news briefing that the performance of Eskom's fleet of ageing, unreliable coal-fired power stations continued to deteriorate. He said 42 generating units, or almost 24,000 megawatts of capacity tripped last week, with some units breaking down more than once.

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Mid-way through its financial year, Eskom has spent R7.7bn on diesel to run emergency generators, far in excess of the budgeted amount, Oberholzer added, calling it a serious concern.

"It's really a difficult situation we find ourselves in," he told reporters.