Civic movement #StandUpSA is due to march to Eskom’s Megawatt Park headquarters in Sunninghill, Johannesburg, on Thursday morning to demand that the power utility find solutions to the country’s energy crisis.
It comes as Eskom continues to implement rolling blackouts, with the country currently being placed on stage 5 power cuts.
#StandUpSA’s spokesperson Khustaz Mtwentwe says, “One of the things important to us is [that] we have to send the demands to Eskom first before we can go up to the Union Buildings. There are very reasonable solutions for Eskom management right now. Let’s talk about the sabotage at the power stations. We know that Eskom has been paying these companies that have been giving them substandard coal. We are saying stop doing that and publish all the companies because once you publish them, then this should disappear.”
Meanwhile, energy expert Ted Blom says government’s decision to consider declaring a state of national disaster over the country’s energy crisis might allow Eskom to access disaster funds.
“Hopefully it will be broad enough to encompass access to disaster funds, broad enough to allow Eskom to procure emergency equipment [and] rationalise some of their operations. There are issues that need to be considered in the scoping of the regulations for the state of disaster,” says Blom.
Below is the full interview with Ted Blom:
