Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy Mr Sahlulele Luzipo says the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill, that is currently subject to a nationwide public consultation process by the committee, aims to end load shedding in the country.
Today the committee held public hearings on the bill in Fezile Dabi District Municipality in the Free State province to solicit citizens’ input on the draft legislation that seeks to introduce reforms in the electricity generation sector.
“The Bill seeks to do away with load shedding, that’s why it talks about additional capacity and additional infrastructure, the more surplus electricity we generate the less justification there will be for load shedding,”
“In simple terms the intention of these amendments or reforms is to improve what is called the electricity availability factor,” said the Chairperson.
Residents of the Fezile Dabi district who spoke during the public hearings at the Zamdela Multipurpose Centre, outside Sasolburg, asked the committee to ensure that the legislation also addresses illegal electricity connections and introduce stringent jail sentences for cable theft without any option of a fine.
Another submission was for the bill to give more insight on the implications of the conclusion of vesting contracts by Eskom, and that the energy entity’s generation price be regulated.
The Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill will enable the unbundling of Eskom into three separate entities responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.
It will also effect changes to the Electricity Regulation Act in order to provide for additional electricity generation capacity and infrastructure, as well as the establishment of the Transmission System Operator SOC Ltd.
The bill seeks to introduce an open market platform that will allow for competitive electricity trading; and to assign the duties, powers and functions of the Transmission System Operator SOC Ltd to the National Transmission Company South Africa SOCLtd.