Energy minister Gwede Mantashe says a lack of interest from private companies to invest in new power plants is to blame for load shedding.<\/p>\n
However, opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has called the minister out for trying to scapegoat the private sector for his own failings in the energy portfolio.<\/p>\n
Speaking to 702<\/a> this past weekend, Mantashe said that when South Africa’s future energy concerns were raised and the Eskom board wanted to start a build programme, the government delayed the process, hoping to bank on the private sector taking interest.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the Eskom Board said to the state, \u2018Listen, there will be the end of the electricity surplus by 2007; please start the build programme,\u2019 they [government] delayed it because they banked on the private sector taking an interest. No private sector took an interest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the private sector has the appetite \u2014 well and good. But the state cannot wait for that appetite for a public good to be provided to society.”<\/p>\n However, this has been characterised as disingenuous by Matashe, given that the energy portfolio, in particular, has been frustrating private participation in the electricity sector for years.<\/p>\n “After spending the past five years, since his appointment as the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, frustrating and blocking the full participation of the private sector in the energy sector \u2013 Gwede Mantashe has made a shameless turn and is now accusing the private sector for the load-shedding crisis,” said the DA’s Kevin Mileham.<\/p>\n “The reality is that no amount of blame-shifting will hide the undeniable fact that Mantashe has, since his appointment, failed to move the needle on the procurement of independent power generation and the incentivisation of private investment in the sector.”<\/p>\n Mileham said that Mantashe and the ANC government, in general, have “fostered policy and regulatory uncertainty” and have been slow to remove red tape, impeding the active participation of Independent Power Producers.<\/p>\n He provided five instances where this was evident.<\/p>\n \u201cOverreliance on the private sector will be a mistake\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n In November 2022, Gwede Mantashe insisted that electricity generation will remain largely in government hands for the foreseeable future. Mantashe said previously that overreliance on the private sector would be a mistake.<\/p>\n He suggested the establishment of another state entity to compete with Eskom<\/a><\/strong> and boost the energy supply.<\/p>\n Refusing\u00a0 to increase the threshold for embedded generation<\/strong><\/p>\n
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