CAPE TOWN – South Africans have again been warned to get used to controlled blackouts for at least the next five years.
The power utility on Monday implemented stage two load shedding as it struggles to recover from a number of breakdowns.
Energy expert Ted Blom blames Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter: “Eighteen months ago, he said he would have all the plants refurbished and that load shedding would end. Earlier this year, he has come out to say he is not going to spend that money on refurbishing the plants and it would be a better investment to put it into renewables. Why are we now sitting with broken plants?”
Blom believes the emphasis on renewables was ill-conceived: “It’s even worse, because with renewables, they are talking about battery storage. There are no utility-size battery storage plants available anywhere in the world. There is no country that’s running battery storage as backup.”
Source: Eyewitness News
Link: https://ewn.co.za/2021/10/11/energy-expert-load-shedding-might-be-around-for-5-years-de-ruyter-to-blame