South Africa to Make Power Cuts ‘Thing of Past’ Within Year, Finance Minister Says
Members of The Middle of the Road Band, trumpet player Smiso (L), 24, trumpet player Franqo (C), 28, and euphonium player Pro (R), 30, play Christmas carols in Johannesburg, in the middle of yet another crippling black out, known locally as load shedding, on December 20, 2022. 
InternationalIndiaAfricaSouth Africa is now experiencing a severe energy crisis. The state-run energy company Eskom is implementing nationwide power cuts, which are considered to be the deepest on record, leaving most of the country’s citizens with no electricity for around six to eight hours per day. South Africa’s government has a plan to improve energy supply in the country that will eventually lead to the end of the frequent power outages within a year or year and a half, according to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. The minister commented on this issue on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, which kicked off on January 16. Among other important issues, the forum is expected to address the problem of energy supplies, as well as the energy crises currently faced by many countries throughout the world.
"Eventually in the next 12-18 months, we will be able to say load-shedding is a thing of the past. That is the target," stated Godongwana, as cited by the media.
He stated that within the next five months, there will be no need to implement so-called “stage 6” power cuts, which mean at least six hours without electricity daily, as facilities will be revamped and measures aimed at improving the situation will be taken, including demand management.According to him, the country’s utility company Eskom doesn’t have the problem with diesel due to lack of financing, but does have “a management problem.” Eskom’s management has long been a subject of criticism from the government as it failed to improve the energy situation, and some of its employees were accused of sabotage and criminality.
Last week, South Africa's energy regulator reportedly approved an 18.65% power price increase for Eskom for the financial year starting on April 1. The company initially asked for a rise of over 32%, citing surging fuel costs. Speaking about this issue, he stressed that the decision "will give them [Eskom] sufficient resources to be able to deal with all of that stuff.”
According to the minister, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to refer to the power situation in the country and the efforts made by the government to improve it in his February 9 state of the nation address.Earlier, the president canceled his plans to attend the annual WEF meeting in Davos due to the urgency of stepping up efforts to combat the energy crisis in the country. To tackle the issue, Ramaphosa met with leaders of major political parties as well as with the National Energy Crisis Committee and the board of Eskom. 
AfricaSouth African President to Skip Davos Forum Amid Energy CrisisYesterday, 13:59 GMTAt the same time, several South Africa’s opposition politicians, a labor union and several business owners have reportedly expressed their intention to sue the government and the utility firm over frequent blackouts, stating that if the officials don’t take measures by January 20, they will face legal action from those seeking relief for the damage caused by the blackouts.South Africa has been suffering from electricity shortages for almost 15 years, but the frequency of crippling blackouts, known locally as load shedding, reached unprecedented levels in recent months. The utility firm Eskom implemented power cuts on more than 200 days last year in order to reduce pressure on the grid following the breakdown of its old coal-powered plants.
