text: In February 2019, shortly after the announcement by government that the company would be broken up, Eskom initiated another round of emergency load shedding.  Eskom stated that the 2019 load shedding was initiated due to breakdowns at power stations as well as the depletion of water and diesel resources.  Other reasons cited included legacy issues from state capture corruption, coal availability, and that new power plants such as Medupi and Kusile were not yet operational. Corruption during the Zuma administration had been noted as a major factor in the cost overruns and long delays in completing Medupi and Kusile power plants that had a knock-on effect leading to the 2019 power shortages. The power shortage and related troubles at Eskom was blamed as a significant contributing factor to a 3.2% decline in GDP growth in the first quarter of 2019, prompting fears of a recession in 2019. In December 2019, President Ramaphosa, deputy president David Mabuza and Ministers Gwede Mantashe and Pravin Gordhan met with Eskom's board and management to discuss about the energy crises. The president attributed the recent blackouts partly to sabotage at the Tutuka Power Station in Mpumalanga which had caused a loss of 2000 megawatts of electricity, and announced measures to bring an end to load-shedding. Mantashe and Gordhan were tasked with presenting ways to increase electricity capacity to the cabinet, which would include self-generation. Amid the crisis, Jabu Mabuza resigned from his post as chairperson of Eskom's board in January 2020. Between March and July 2020 the power supply was stable due to reduced demand during the COVID-19 lockdown, but on 12 July a new round of level 2 load shedding began due to the breakdown of generating units. During the winter of 2023, the country experienced Stage 6 blackouts, shaving a projected 2% off the country's GDP. During the worst period, power cuts lasted 12 hours a day. The company faces theft of materials for resale, sabotage to force repairs to be made at corruptly inflated prices, and assassination attempts which may be motivated by the attempt to replace coal with renewable sources.