The last week of load shedding wiped R6 billion from South Africa’s economy: mayor
The City of Cape Town says it is ready to begin the process of moving off Eskom’s grid but warns that several important regulatory issues remain unresolved.
In a letter sent to president Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of his state of the nation address on Thursday evening (10 February), Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said that load shedding costs the national economy an estimated R500 million per stage, per day.
“Last week’s blackouts alone amounted to at least R6 billion in value being wiped out from our economy.
“To put this in concrete terms, this amount could have paid around 460,000 South Africans the national median monthly salary of R13,044. With rising poverty and an unemployment rate now sitting at 46.6%, energy security is a pressing social justice issue.”
Hill-Lewis said ‘regulatory snags’ have introduced unnecessary risks and obstacles that have the potential to delay its IPP procurement processes and self-generation projects if left unaddressed.
“One issue that I specifically brought to the President’s attention is the lack of clarity on whether a ministerial determination in terms of s34 of the Electricity Regulation Act will be required in respect of the City’s power purchase agreements and the City’s own planned generation projects.
“If (Energy) minister Mantashe has an effective right to veto our power procurement projects, the resultant risk may deter potential IPP partners from making preparations to enter these contracts. This is not to mention the significant delays of months (and often years) that occur when approvals are required from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.”
Hill-Lewis said that Ramaphosa could easily commit his government to an interpretation of the legislation that will make a s34 ministerial determination unnecessary. “This small signal will carry far-reaching, positive consequences for the nation’s energy security.”
Read: New regulations to help end load shedding in South Africa
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