‘It’ll be good for economy’: President Ramaphosa hints at second state-owned power utility
As South Africans continue to endure rolling power cuts, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa said having a second state-owned power utility would be good for the economy and consumers.
He was speaking about the power crisis at the South African Communist Party congress in Boksburg earlier on Friday.
Ramaphosa said the idea was pitched to him by Minerals and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe as Cabinet scrambled to find solutions to the problem that was costing the economy billions.
Load shedding has once again become a norm this winter as many of us go to bed and wake up to darkness.
Ramaphosa said the country would be informed of the government’s plans to deal with the electricity crisis in the coming days.
“The severe economic and social impact of load shedding means that we have to use every available means and remove every regulatory obstacle to bring extra electricity onto the grid.”
While he planted the idea of a second power utility like Eskom, he provided no further details.
There is currently no policy proposal around the setting up of a second utility.
Instead, the government has been focused on exploring how independent power producers can be best brought on board to alleviate some of the pressures faced by Eskom.
There is also no mention of the concept in the governing ANC’s policy discussion documents, which will be discussed by delegates at the party’s policy conference at the end of the month.
-EWN
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