Stage 13 load shedding? Government kept enormity of Eskom crisis secret for months

The country is at risk of losing more than 13 000 megawatts of generation capacity - equal to 13 stages of load shedding - at three power stations due to the poor condition of water treatment plants, a group of international experts warned the government in September.

But this has been kept from the public, with repeated statements that the situation was improving by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and even President Cyril Ramaphosa shortly after his State of the Nation Address in early February. 

The government has collectively opted to paint a rosy outlook, despite knowing for six months that worse levels of load shedding would have to be endured and billions spent to fix the electricity shortage, even if the water treatment plants at Medupi, Mathimba and Kendal power stations did not fail.