Ramaphosa Weighs in on Energy Crisis

By: Bright Ntuli

President Cyril Ramaphosa says Eskom  will continue to be owned by government.

This comes as the president has announced an amendment to the Electricity Regulation Act that will make it easier for independent power providers to generate power and even sell it back into the grid.

The amendment will also allow independent power producers to generate up to 100 Megawatts of electricity without having to obtain a license from the national energy regulator.

Briefing the media on South Africa’s economic recovery, Ramaphosa says this does not however mean the end of the power utility.

Ramaphosa has announced plans by government to increase the NERSA licencing threshold from 1 to 100 megawatts.

The effort is aimed at reducing the impact of loadshedding to households and business.

“Resolving the energy supply shortfall and reducing the risk of load shedding is our single most important objective in reviving economic growth,” says Ramaphosa.

He has also admitted that the current measures by Eskom will not be sufficient to help resolve the country’s energy crisis.