By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The ruling African National Party (ANC) has called for immediate and long-term interventions that will ensure sustainable energy security amid ongoing blackouts.
The ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) deliberated on the energy crisis facing the country, and the impact of load shedding on the country during its executive committee meeting held over the weekend.
° It urged its government deployees and state company Eskom to consider the following measures:
° Increase maintenance and improve the availability of existing supply;
° Eskom should acquire appropriate skills and experienced mentors
° Speed up the repurposing of power stations with alternate energy sources;
° Accelerate the procurement of battery storage;
° Empower municipalities to procure additional electricity; and
° Encourage businesses and households to invest in renewable energies.
“Government must speed up reforms in the energy sector,” the ANC said. It emphasised the need for immediate interventions to “alleviate the plight of South Africans,” as well as the “pursuit of longer-term systemic interventions to ensure sustainable energy security”.
As they deal and look into this situation they must also come up with a package of incentives that they will be able to give to the general public to allow them to use alternatives.
“So we are hopeful that while government outlines its own plans, it will also be able to say this is what we will be doing to support small businesses. This is what we are going to be doing to aid indigent households, “said ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe.
He conceded that not everyone will be able to afford this, and will need support.
The political party’s top brass held its ordinary session on 2 – 4 July, focussing on the critical issues facing the country, most notably, load shedding, and the rising cost of living in South Africa.
Ex-employees to deal with crisis.
Eskom plans to rehire former employees to mentor and train staff lacking the necessary skills to keep the lights on.
“It is also, at last, bringing in the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to conduct maintenance on parts of its plants where its own engineers and artisans are having difficulty, “News24 reported.
Eskom’s chief executive Andre de Ruyter said: “We are now in the process of bringing in previous employees. It has been difficult due to legacy race issues, which are still sensitive and we cannot be oblivious to that. But from the perspective of the shareholder, there has been strong support for this on the basis that they come in to transfer skills.”
Chief operations officer Jan Oberholzer said that a list of 45 former employees has been compiled.
“Eskom was a world-class utility and had world-class skills. At that time we had a pipeline of skills, we had succession planning, technical training, and coaching and mentorship programmes. People went up the ladder and they were ready when they were appointed. A warm body in a chair does not mean the person has the skills. This is where Eskom went wrong.”
Eskom said in a statement earlier this week, that it hopes to taper down load shedding to stage 2 after labour groups agreed to a wage offer from the state-owned power utility, ending a week of illegal protests.
Declaration of ‘energy emergency’
The National Planning Commission (NPC) has called for the declaration of an ‘energy emergency’ to override any red tape currently preventing the construction of new electricity capacity, as well as to make it possible to build 10 000 MW of new generation and 5 000 MW of new storage capacity over the coming two years.
“The most immediate priority is to ensure that new generation capacity is rapidly and urgently brought on to the grid, together with significant new storage capacity.
Evidence suggests it is possible to do this within 24 months, if 10 000 MW of new generation capacity is rapidly constructed and commissioned as well as 5 000 MW of storage capacity, “the NPC said in a statement, noting that solar and wind power projects could be built rapidly.
Ending load-shedding, the commission added, needed to become a “unifying national goal for the whole country and all stakeholders”.