BBC- President Cyril Ramaphosa has proposed a number of actions aimed at resolving South Africa’s energy crisis after three weeks of the worst power outages in the country’s history. These include increasing the efficiency of state-owned power utility Eskom and allowing for private enterprises to produce electricity. It comes after ten days of in-depth meetings…
BBC- President Cyril Ramaphosa has proposed a number of actions aimed at resolving South Africa’s energy crisis after three weeks of the worst power outages in the country’s history.
These include increasing the efficiency of state-owned power utility Eskom and allowing for private enterprises to produce electricity.
It comes after ten days of in-depth meetings with energy specialists to address the nation’s short- and long-term electricity needs.
Fixing troubled Eskom is the top priority; to maintain the utility’s aging fleet of power plants, the budget will be boosted.
The government would purchase extra electricity produced by independent power providers and add it to the system.
Through the Southern Africa Power Pool, Eskom will also obtain electricity from Zambia and Botswana, two neighboring countries.
The president also announced other initiatives, such as reducing red tape for renewable energy projects and providing incentives to organizations and people to build and sell extra electricity to the national grid.
President Ramaphosa hinted to the future, saying Eskom will have to live alongside private businesses to ensure a variety of electricity supply.
The state will still be the sole owner of the national grid, though.
