Gordhan says Eskom was anticipating maintenance but there have been unpredictable breakdowns.

JOHANNESBURG - Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says a mixture of state capture, poor infrastructure, and untrustworthy contractors has had a profound effect on the provision of power.

The minister has been explaining the root causes of load shedding at a briefing in Johannesburg on Thursday.

The country has been hit by widespread outages over the past week with businesses complaining its affecting productivity.

Gordhan says Eskom was anticipating maintenance but there have been unpredictable breakdowns.

He says after 2010, there was no budget for major repairs and therefore there is a shortage in the provision of power.

“And as a result if you had another 2,500 of what they call the reserve margin, in other words, that’s the safety that needs to be kept all the time in order for the system to work, then we are unable to meet the current demand of about 29,000 megawatts, which is what you have in summer.”

Gordhan says the power system has also been sabotaged during labour unrest.

“And we are not sure yet whether there’s an element of undermining of the power system as well, let’s call it sabotage.”

The minister says contractors also need to be held to account as construction at the Khusile and Medupi power stations is way behind schedule.

“The original equipment manufactures, the people who are putting the boilers and grinders in, and all the other various equipment are doing a substandard job.”

WATCH LIVE: Eskom briefing on operational challenges