Scheduled blackouts were the “right thing” to do, Eskom CEO Tshediso Matona said on Thursday.
“We have arrived at a turning point where can either continue to do the same things of the past… or we can do the right thing… to get us out of this difficult situation,” he told reporters in Johannesburg.
Blackouts were necessary to allow Eskom to catch up with the maintenance of its generating units.
“We have opted to do things the right way… expose the country to the likelihood of load shedding,” said Matona.
In February, a unit at Koeberg power would go down for maintenance.
“The power system will be severely constrained for a long time.”
Matona added: “It is not whether or not load shedding will be part of our lives, but how we are going to cope with it.”
ESKOM LIKE CAR THAT NEEDS MAINTENANCE
Eskom is like a car that has not been maintained, its CEO said on Thursday.
“The metaphor of a car is very useful. If you continue to drive a car without maintaining it, it will carry you but at some point it breaks down,” Tshediso Matona told reporters in Johannesburg.
“I think this is what is happening with many generating units at Eskom.”
Eskom has had a “maintenance philosophy” but it did not always stick to it.
“Eskom has not stayed faithful to that maintenance religion for a very, long time. The reliability of our equipment is the price we are paying.”
Source : Sapa /mjs/fg/ks
