JOHANNESBURG, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Following two weeks of nationwide power outages, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan told the media that the government's aim is to stop load shedding completely or implement stage one as a last resort from now until December.
Gordhan said a total of R4.5 billion (320 million USD) would be spent fixing design problems at Medupi and Kusile power plants.
The objective is still to provide reliable electricity supply to businesses and homes. "We have as an aim that we should have no load shedding moving forward," he said on Wednesday.
Gordhan further said actions should be taken when the plans to turn around Eskom are not being fully implemented.
"Plans are nice to have, the key is the discipline to ensure that implementation occurs. We need increased levels of accountability," he said.
The minister also appealed for citizens and businesses to reduce their use of energy.
Explaining the factors that led to stage four load shedding from March 14 to 23, Eskom's board chairman Jabu Mabuza blamed depleted diesel levels, reduced water levels in Eskom's hydro, 16 boiler tube leaks and the loss of Cahora Bassa imports from Mozambique due to the recent cyclone.
Mabuza added that fixing some of the newest power stations was key.
"The decision is that we will continue to fix design problems at the Medupi and Kusile power stations," he added.
