In for a shock – load shedding isn’t the new electricity minister’s only problem
Although curtailing rolling blackouts is top of the new electricity minister’s list, he faces more than meets the eye.
The newly appointed minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has the sole mandate of fulfilling the already-in-place ‘energy action plan’ – and only one part of this is reducing the severity and frequency of load shedding.
After a meeting with the National Energy Crisis Committee in January, the president and government departments identified five crucial interventions that have become the primary focus of the country’s energy action plan. These include:
- Resolving issues with Eskom and enhancing the accessibility of the current electricity supply
- Encouraging and expediting private investment in generation capability
- Making the procurement of new capacity from renewable energy sources, gas, and battery storage quicker
- Empowering businesses and households to invest in rooftop solar energy
- Implementing a fundamental transformation of the electricity sector.
Within these tasks, the minister must deal with onboarding maintenance initiatives, smoothing procurement bottlenecks and communicating to the public progress – if any – regarding the embattled power utility Eskom, among many other things.
President Cyril Ramaphosa first announced the energy action plan in July 2022. On 6 March, after a series of delays, Ramokgopa was appointed the new electricity minister after previously being the head of the investment and infrastructure office in the presidency.
Speaking to ENCA on Tuesday (7 March), Ramokgopa said he would meet with Eskom’s board this week and plan to tackle the energy crisis head-on, looking at individual failing units as the first point of improvement.
The minister is then expected to meet with relevant stakeholders over the next 20 days and draft a more detailed implementation plan.
He said that 81 units are meant to be operating, and all of these must be brought back online to ensure that South Africa has a stable baseload of power.
The minister said that when the electricity availability factor is at 40%, it means nothing to the general public. He noted that shortcoming across each unit needs to be addressed and communicated to the public.
Ramokgopa, as the executive overseeing the energy crisis, will also have the unique ability to invoke powers granted under the disaster management act when he sees it fit to reduce red tape and fast-track solutions.
He said the disaster management action is to be used as a tool.
His ministry will act as an intermediary between the government, Eskom, new-generation producers, and other relevant stakeholders.
The electricity minister is also expected to assist in processes private entities have already undergone to improve their electricity supply.
For example, Ramokgopa said that his ministry has already met with the farming industry to stabilise food security; major banks across the country to develop a financing instrument for rooftop solar; and big retailers to take advantage of their rooftop space to feed power back into the grid.
Little in the way of timelines has been given to the public – however, under the energy action plan, a roadmap to end load shedding has been provided.
On 2 February, according to government officials and various departments, if the roadmap’s proposed projects are successful, South Africa could reduce the occurrence of load shedding over the next 12 to 18 months.
Dealing with the energy crisis is a monumental task, and Ramokgopasaid it would take time. However, he said that he was confident load shedding would end.
Pushback
The appointment of the new minister has faced criticism from political parties and business leaders for bloating an already full cabinet.
Energy Expert Ruse Moleshe told CapeTalk on Tuesday (7 March) that it is not ideal for three departments to deal with the energy crisis, with the Department of Public Enterprises, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and now the Ministry of Electricity all operating in the same space.
Moleshe noted, however, that it was interesting that the president – in terms of 97 of the Consitution – has given the new minister the ability to transfer certain powers as an executive.
This, in turn, may address the issues that overlap, such as onboarding new generation capacity in the domain of the department of minerals and energy.
Ramokgopa has defended his position as resulting from a need for a laser-focused department that “lives and breathes the problem.”
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