By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Government has filed an application for leave to appeal the ruling of the Gauteng Division of the High Court on 1 December last year, that ordered it to to exclude key public institutions from load shedding.
The court issued a finding of unconstitutional conduct by government over almost three decades that culminated in the current electricity crisis and severe load shedding.
It ordered Minister in the presidency responsible for Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to take “all reasonable steps by no later than 31 January 2024, whether in conjunction with Eskom and other organs of state or not,” to ensure uninterrupted power supply to all public hospitals, clinics and schools, as well as police stations, by the end of January.
The UDM and 18 other organizations took the power utility to court demanding an end to load shedding and power cuts exemption for critical infrastructures including schools, police stations, hospitals, and clinics.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said “the judgment will be appealed, and Eskom has already lodged its application for leave to appeal”.
Late on Tuesday night Electricity Ministry confirmed that “government, with the Ministry of Electricity being a respondent, has filed for leave to appeal in the DA judgment delivered on 1 December”.
“As per its original position and submission in court documents; government is not contesting its obligation to render public services, including a reliable and affordable supply of electricity – but is challenging the ruling on the basis of its legal competence,” said the ministry.
The ministry continued to say it is of the view that a different court may arrive at a different conclusion.
“The order is vague it does not identify the “respondent organs of state” to which it relates; and it does not correlate the listed conduct with any particular organ of the state.”
“Government is continuing to act on all measures set out in the five outcomes of the energy action plan to fast-track work to ensure the reduction of the frequency and intensity of load shedding to the general populous, including public facilities like schools, clinics and police stations; with the ultimate objective of ensuring energy security, including a reserve margin to buffer during times of peak demand.”
The latest forecast by Eskom’s system operator indicates an equally difficult 2024.
The more than two-week-long suspension of load shedding was mainly due to the significantly lower demand.
Eskom’s Energy Availability Factor (EAF) is a worry. For load shedding to be a thing of the past, EAF needs to be around 70% – but the power utility is barely able to keep it above 55%.
The group set a target of 60% EAF by March 2023, which it missed, 65% by March 2024 – which it is likely to miss – and 70% by March 2025.
Energy experts have noted that getting EAF to these levels (on a long-term trend basis) is near impossible, as it will take years for the declining trend to stabilise and reverse.
Others have noted that these targets are all moot, as private generation is likely to become more appealing by 2025 anyway, making load shedding irrelevant for a significant portion of the population.