ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa. Image:Twitter@IOL
Eskom 2.0? Another state power utility being considered -Ramaphosa
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa said Eskom being the only company providing energy to the whole country poses a great risk
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa. Image:Twitter@IOL
South Africa could have a second state-owned power utility to challenge Eskom’s monopoly, that’s if the African National Congress (ANC) has anything to do with it. ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has revealed that the party is seriously considering the move as a measure to take on the country’s energy crisis.
Ramaphosa made the remarks while delivering a message of support on the ANC’s behalf on the third day of the SACP’s elective congress.
Eskom has been struggling to keep the lights on, especially in recent weeks after employees embarked on industrial action over wages. While staff have since returned to work, the utility has said the rolling blackouts will continue for the next few weeks. Energy experts reckon the situation has reached a state of crisis and government needs to work on finding a solution to load shedding.
RAMAPHOSA: SECOND POWER UTILITY A GOOD IDEA
Speaking on the electricity crisis, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the proposal to have a second power utility that would rival Eskom was initially made by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe when the embattled parastatal was forced to implement stage 6 load shedding.
“Eskom has been operating as a monopoly for over 100 years and having one company taking up the role of providing energy to the entire country poses a great risk. If it [Eskom] fails, its failure becomes a peculiar failure for the entire country,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa reckons Mantashe’s proposal is a good idea, saying in part: “Look at China. It has a number of state-owned power providers who compete among themselves ensuring that the price of electricity is greatly reduced.”
As things stand, load shedding will remain at Stage 3 for the rest of Friday. The beleaguered parastatal said it would issue further updates if the situation changes.
Approximately 4500MW of capacity is offline due to planned maintenance, while 16 320MW is unavailable because of breakdowns. Eskom said generating units are expected to return to service next week. However, electricity cuts are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
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