As load shedding continues to dent South Africa’s economy and shut down most small businesses, the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) gave an update on what it has been doing and what it plans to do to lead the country out of the darkness.
The “six-month progress update” published on The Presidency’s website this past weekend came after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s July 2022 promise to “improve the performance of existing power stations and add new generation capacity as quickly as possible”.
Read More: Load shedding won’t become permanent in SA (and that’s somehow the worse option)
We don’t know what government’s interpretation of “as quickly as possible” is, especially after Eskom’s announcement (also made this past weekend) about a possible additional two years of load shedding. ‘Quickly’ may mean different things to the government and to businesses that are closing down faster than Eskom’s daily load-shedding announcements.
The Presidency also says NECOM will “ensure swift implementation of the plan.”
Here’s what the government says it is doing to bring back the lights:
Source: The Presidency