Page 23 - Energize Issue 1 2023

VIEWS AND OPINION

situation is now approaching crisis electrical energy and wires businesses, and the establishment of a competitive retail
proportions, with SALGA urging electricity sector in South Africa, has not even started.
municipalities to resist Eskom’s efforts A longstanding disagreement between Eskom and municipalities represented by
to recover municipal arrear debt. SALGA, in respect of claims by municipalities for exclusive authority over electricity
distribution and reticulation in South Africa, will be heard in the High Court in 2023.
Electricity sector reform and However, whatever the outcome in the High Court, the matter appears set to be
restructuring heading to the Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court, and the dispute
Despite being a key part of the could still take some years to resolve.
1998 Government White Paper on
Energy Policy, and the 2019 Eskom Criminality
Roadmap published by the DPE, Increasing levels of electricity, steel, copper, aluminium conductor and cable theft, as
delays in electricity sector reform and well as vandalism of electricity infrastructure and threats to personnel, are reaching
restructuring continue to this day. a stage where Eskom and municipalities are beginning to abandon certain areas of
Talk of unbundling Eskom to supply as “no-go” zones.
establish an independent National In addition, maladministration, procurement irregularities, fraud, corruption,
Transmission Company of South Africa criminality and sabotage within Eskom and its power stations, and at municipalities
(NTCSA), a diversified competitive and their electricity distributors, is a major challenge, to the extent that the army has
generation sector, and day-ahead, been deployed to protect assets at a number of Eskom power stations.
balancing and ancillary service It is evident that there exists a significant lack of capacity by the South
electricity markets, is still ongoing. African Police Service (SAPS), by specialised crime investigative, prosecuting and
However, more than a year since enforcement authorities, and by the justice department, to bring electricity criminals
it was established as a legal entity to book.
and subsidiary of Eskom Holdings
SOC, NERSA has still not processed a Conclusion
transmission licence for NTCSA, the From the multitude of challenges facing the electricity supply and distribution
DPE minister has yet to appoint a industries of South Africa, it is clear there are indeed significant opportunities that
board of directors for the company, could be realised by successfully addressing just some of these.
and NTCSA is still not operational. However, a continued failure to address these challenges will have the inevitable
Work on the rationalisation result of ongoing economic decline and loss of confidence by citizens and business
and restructuring of the electricity entities in South Africa, leading to political, economic and social instability.
distribution sector was abandoned
in 2010, and the separation of the Send your comments to rogerl@nowmedia.co.za

The plain man’s view on 2022

Enegesis

wenty-twenty-two will be need for energy security, particularly imported primary energy is fraught with
remembered as the year of the energy generation, with electricity at the danger. The issue of energy sovereignty
Tgreat energy crisis, the year in forefront. has now become primary.
which many countries had to revert It was also the year of record world The crisis mainly affected Europe
to fossil fuels to meet demand, which coal consumption, in which many and the UK, which rely heavily on
led to a hiatus in the transition to countries realised that energy security is imported gas from Russia. Germany
reach net zero, and a scramble instead more important than other issues. Many experienced its regular Dunkleflaute
to ensure power security. Long term countries had relied on gas as a bridge period where wind and solar drops
targets remain unchanged, but the to cleaner energy, but failed to secure substantially for long periods and had to
drive behind the energy transition was local sources of this fuel, and found re-open old coal-fired stations to meet
put on hold, overshadowed by the to their great chagrin that relying on demand.

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