Stage 4 load shedding: It comes as quite a shock says Cyril Ramaphosa [video]

11/02/2019

President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his worry about the news Eskom has implemented state 4 load shedding in South Africa.

Cyril Ramaphosa in Ethiopia as South Africa survives load shedding The president, on Monday, was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, attending the 32nd African Union heads of state summit. As the president is out dealing with the possibility of chairing the African Union (AU) in 2020, Eskom is on the brink of total collapse.

Read Stage 4 load shedding: Here's how close South Africa is to disaster

In his state of the nation address (SONA 2019), we heard for the first time, Ramaphosa clearly stating that Eskom needed the government's help.

Why did Eskom institute stage 4 load shedding? Eskom, in fact, needs a lot more practical help than promises because on Monday, the power utility announced that it would, effective immediately, institute a stage 4 load shedding schedule.

This is the last resort for the power utility before the worst possible option a national blackout.

To do this, Eskom will have to cut 4 000MWs of power to sustain the life of the national grid.

The load shedding data map that shows the areas which will be affected at the said time slots can be checked out here.

Read Breaking: Eskom intensify load shedding, Stage 4 put in place until 22:00

Ramaphosa's response to stage 4 load shedding Ramaphosa, reacting to the news about the energy crisis in South Africa, expressed his shock and disbelief of the events that unfolded on Monday.

Energy is the real important generator of economic growth in our country and we are addressing it. We've heard that there is stage 4 load shedding.

Now that comes as quite a shock because its reported that there are six units that have gone down. That is most worrying, most disturbing, Ramaphosa said.

The president vowed that the matter was being addressed and that he expects a report on the matter once he's returned from his international trip.

Read Load shedding preparation: Here's how you can stay one step ahead of Eskom power cuts

He stressed the need to assess the risk of Eskom, likening its current state to a tray that holds broken eggs.

It makes me angry that we have reached this state of dysfunction, and the minister of public enterprises (Pravin Gordhan) is busy right now, together with the board, with that issue. When I get back home, I will be getting a report

Eskom is a risk. We've got all our energy eggs in one basket. When the generator of energy in our country reports that there are six [affected] units, it says these eggs are broken and it should not be like that, he added.

You can watch the rest of his comments on load shedding in the video below (skip to 21:50).

Read Here's how you can check Eskom's daily load shedding schedule

Watch: Ramaphosa comments on stage 4 load shedding 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union #AUSummit https://t.co/g4NSb4agNt

- President Cyril Ramaphosa (@CyrilRamaphosa) February 11, 2019 Tags: African UnionCyril RamaphosaEskomload sheddingSouth Africa

LINK:	https://www.thesouthafrican.com/stage-4-load-shedding-comes-as-shock-s...
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