The National Assembly (NA) has approved the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill. The Bill aims to establish the Transmission System Operator Company which will deal with the electricity transmission system after Eskom unbundling into three entities.
It will also provide penalties of up to R5 million and 10-year imprisonment for people or entities that steal electricity or damage electricity infrastructure.
The Bill has been in the making for some time following the announcement to unbundle Eskom. It wants to deal with the governance framework of the transmission entity, the decline in energy availability factor and improve competition.
“Among others provide for open market platform that will allow competitive electricity trading in South Africa; make provision for the creation of the transmission systems operator to act as a wheeler and a dealer of electricity; strengthen the role of Nersa to include powers to license entities that will implement the competitive market and have regulatory oversight during the transitioning to the competitive market,” says Gwede Mantashe, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister.
The Bill will also address theft of electricity, and vandalism of infrastructure by introducing penalties.
“For individuals who are found damaging or destroying electricity infrastructure it proposes a period of five years of not more than five years or R1 million. It also proposes for those trade in illegal electricity activities including damage of electricity infrastructure and property it gives a period not more than 10 years,” says Zet Luzipho, Chairperson: Mineral Resources and Energy Committee.
“The bill before us creates an offence for one to damage or destroy equipment or cables to be used in the reticulation of electricity or if one acquires such cables and equipment. However, to steal the electricity itself is still not an offence,” says Wynard Boschoff, FF Plus MP.
However, there are concerns about the independence of the new transmission entity.
“We remain concerned that the creation of a transmission system operator state-owned entity as envisaged by the bill does not go far enough to ensure the independence of the unbundled entity,” says Kevin Mileham, DA MP.
“Parliament will need to tighten its oversight responsibilities and ensure that the planned new state entities are protected from any degree of corruption, something that contributed to the collapse of Eskom,” says Zandile Majozi, IFP MP.
“Our daily loadshedding schedule is a clear indication that Eskom is extremely unreliable. Therefore, we cannot be trusted as the only entity to generate electricity. The IFP has always been a staunch supporter of public private partnership,” says Steve Swart, ACDP MP.
The EFF believes the new entity is a route towards privatization.
“The persistence and devastating blackouts, the so-called loadshedding, was allowed to happen in order to pave the way for this Bill of the so-called need to open the market that allows for competitive electricity trading. The so-called electricity is nothing but privatisation of electricity generation,” says Omphile Maotwe, EFF MP.
Meanwhile, the DA and the ANC continue to be at loggerheads over the cadre deployment policy. And this debate has now spilled over into the electricity sector.
“You had an entity that supplied 34% of citizens mainly white citizens. Today, that 93% of citizens of the country have access to electricity and blacks is cadre deployment. Please get rid of the obsession. It is racist actually. That obsession is racist,” Mantashe added.
The Bill was supported by all voting parties except the EFF.
