“Infrastructure theft”, “corruption”, and “heavy rainfall”. The list of excuses for Eskom seems to be never-ending as the attempt to battle the scourge of load shedding.

The woes of Eskom seem to be far from over as consumers spend hours on end in the dark. This is as the power utility placed the country on Stage 6 this weekend, following what it has described as the breakdown of 8 generation units.

With the state of Eskom being one of concern, the utility has seemed to shift the blame off themselves once again, listing the recent rainfall as a contributing factor to rolling blackouts. 

The utility further spoke on the growing issue of infrastructure theft and vandalism as well as the contribution of law enforcement to this. 

Speaking on this damage to infrastructure, the group executive for distribution Monde Bala expressed that there was an increase in the damage to cables and breakers, apart from the damage to transformers.

This is despite efforts to combat this, such as the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). 

According to Eskom, some deployed members of the SANDF have since been arrested for their contribution to crime I'm the utility.

Despite the ongoing struggle to keep the lights on, the utility's CEO, Andre de Ruyter has since expressed that Eskom plans to reduce load shedding to Stage 4 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the wait to hear who will be appointed as the new Minister of Electricity continues. This is as President Cyril Ramaphosa announced this position alongside the National State of Disaster to help address the ongoing energy crisis in the country.

With the Budget Speech set to be announced on 22 February 2023, one predicts that Ramaphosa will shuffle his cabinet afterward, where we will see where the four newly appointed members of Parliament will be, and who will occupy the new position of Minister of Electricity.

The question remains, will whoever is appointed be able to cope with the difficult task at hand, or is this an attempt to distribute money in unnecessary portfolios?