Johannesburg - The load shedding which wreaked havoc on South Africa's economy and businesses at the beginning of last year was a learning experience for Eskom, says Eskom Chief Executive Officer Jacob Maroga.
The forced rolling black outs were caused by a higher than expected demand in electricity and low reserve margins.
Government, in a bid to handle the electricity crisis, launched the National Electricity Management Plan and called on all citizens, businesses and other organisations to come together and work towards finding solutions to the current power crisis.
Large electricity consumers, such as businesses, agreed to decrease their consumption by 10 percent. This lead to some industries, especially the mining sector, being put under strain.
The rapid economic growth led to a higher demand for electricity than there was supply.
Briefing the media on the state of electricity supply in the country, Mr Maroga said the electricity crisis had presented Eskom with an opportunity to reflect on key issues which needed to be dealt with urgently.
"As we move forward, we need to make sure that we are not where we were before. We are going to make sure that power supply is not compromised and that there is additional power to grow the economy."
Mr Maroga said his organisation had put in place measures to prevent past mistakes, including putting in place a maintenance schedule, improving infrastructure and beefing up capacity and skills.
"The challenges we faced in the past have made us to be more wiser to deal with other challenges,' Mr Maroga said.
Eskom is currently building the Kusile Power Station in Mpumalanga, which is said to be the second most advanced coal-fired power plant project after the Medupi power station in Lephalale, Limpopo.
According to Eskom, the station will consist of six units each rated at approximately 800 MW installed capacity giving a total of 4800 MW.
