STORY: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday rejected opposition allegations that a recent pause in electricity cuts was due to an election coming up on May 29.
The Democratic Alliance, the biggest opposition party, last week attributed the improved power supply to (quote) "political interference" by the ANC.
It accused the party of putting pressure on Eskom to keep the lights on.
In 2023, rolling power cuts imposed by state utility Eskom reached record levels.
They continued into the first quarter of this year.
But there has now been no load-shedding, as South Africans call the cuts, for 48 days, the longest period for more than two years.
The dramatic improvement in power supply has led to accusations that the timing was designed to improve voter satisfaction.
Ramaphosa said Eskom's improved performance showed that the government's energy plan, announced in 2022, was bearing fruit.
He attributed the improvement to a renewed focus by Eskom on maintenance, new generation capacity from renewables and strong take-up of rooftop solar panels.
However, Eskom's former CEO alleged last week that the utility is burning more diesel to increase supply.
According to South Africa's energy regulator, in April alone Eskom had generated more than half of the amount budgeted for per quarter.
South Africa's Electricity Minister denied the accusation.
The ANC is facing its toughest electoral test to date.
Opinion polls suggest it is on course to lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since it came to power 30 years ago at the end of apartheid.
