The City of Cape Town will be at the High Court in Pretoria on Monday for an online hearing on the local government’s right to procure electricity.
The City will determine municipalities’ legal power to procure electricity under the Electricity Regulation Act, current regulations require local governments to get electricity from Eskom.
If the City of Cape Town wins the case, it will set a precedent for other municipalities and large power consumers to procure power directly from independent power producers (IPP’s).
The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) are the respondents.
City Power speaks on studies conducted on technology needed to provide electricity:
In February, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that financially viable municipalities can procure their own electricity from independent power producers.
Speaking at a media briefing in Cape Town, Malema said: “Ramaphosa’s SONA was a repetition of ideas that he shows no ability to implement. The most concrete commitment is the one to privatise Eskom and our SOEs. It is sealed and dusted. The state will now allow municipalities to enter into exploitative contracts with IPPs, a strategic entity that is supposed to drive development is going into the hands of greedy capitalists who have no obligation to provide affordable electricity to our people, even in the most remote areas.”
EFF calls on Eskom to ditch the use of IPPs:
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