Country ‘needs to get out of the energy crisis urgently’
FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana says the country needs to get out of the energy crisis urgently to steer the economy.
A secure energy supply was important to get the economy on track, said Godongwana, adding that if Eskom failed to deliver electricity they would have to diversify and go for other sources of energy.
A few month ago, the government allowed for embedded generation to be increased from 1 to 100MW. This allows private players to provide other sources of energy to the national grid to avoid load shedding.
The country has been plunged into darkness since Eskom began implementing stages 4, 3 and 2 of load shedding.
With Eskom continuing to face mounting pressure over the rolling power outages, costing the economy billions of rand, the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) said more players had to help provide energy.
However, the Treasury said the risk of power outages remained high, but the increase of embedded generation from 1 to 100MW by private suppliers would help offset load shedding. This could start being implemented by late next year.
“The electricity, gas and water sector grew by 5.8% in the first six months of the year, compared with the same period in 2020. Generation capacity, however, remains constrained. A large number of unplanned outages, and explosions at the Medupi and Kendal power stations, reflect the deterioration in Eskom’s plant performance.
“The risk of power cuts remains high. This is also evident in the downward trend of the energy availability factor (which measured 63% this year, compared with 65% last year). Raising the licensing threshold for embedded generation will support higher investment, reduce pressure on the grid and lower the risk of load shedding from late 2022. However, inadequate electricity supply will remain a binding constraint on economic recovery in the near term,” read the MTBPS.
In his speech in the National Assembly, Godongwana said they need edto get Eskom on the right track and fix the economy.
Municipalities would also play a role by ensuring that they procure from other suppliers to ease the pressure on Eskom, he said.