Eskom remains key amid push for renewable energy: Ramaphosa


President Cyril Ramaphosa says renewable energy will not replace Eskom as South Africa’s main electricity generator. He said this during his visit to Kusile Power Station in Nkangala, Mpumalanga.

The President, accompanied by the Electricity Minister Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, was at the facility as part of ongoing efforts to assess the country’s power supply and generation capacity.

Ramaphosa commended Eskom for its consistent improvement in electricity production and supply, noting progress in stabilising the national grid. He emphasised that while renewable energy will form part of South Africa’s energy mix, Eskom will remain central to powering the country.

“Eskom, by the way, is the biggest generator of electricity. And sometimes people have a fear that the new generators, the renewables and so forth, are going to overwhelm Eskom. No. Eskom is always going to be the principal generator of electricity in the country. But Eskom must not be trapped in just doing fossil fuels and nuclear,” he says.

He says Eskom must break out and get into renewables.

“We rely on Eskom to go and install the nuclear power stations that we are going to build,” adds Ramaphosa.

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