Parliament, Friday, 24 November 2023 – The Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy concluded the KwaZulu Natal leg of public hearings on the Electricity Regulations Amendment (ERA) Bill.
The committee held the fourth public hearings in the province in uMzimkhulu in the Harry Gwala District Municipality where the Bill was supported by the majority of residents who filled up the Clydesdale Community Hall to express their views on the Bill.
Outlining the purpose of the Bill, a member of the committee, Mr Mathews Wolmarans said the Bill seeks to amend the Electricity Regulation Act of 2006. He told the residents that the amendment to this Act is relatively around issues that deal with the transformation of the industry as well.
He said: “The Bill seeks to tell us that the capacity that we currently have must be modified and increased, hence we want to discuss how the implementation of the transformed capacity can be regulated,” Furthermore, He said the Bill also seeks to add additional infrastructure to carry the load of the entire country with regards to electricity, Mr Wolmarans said.
The residents expressed their appreciation to the committee for seeking their views on the Bill. They agreed with the unbundling of Eskom, and the introduction of independent generators. They argued that they have noted that when Eskom was operating as a single structure, the entity monopolised the distribution of electricity. They applauded the Bill for opening their eyes to see that it is not only Eskom that can provide electricity generation.
The residents complained about how load-shedding is affecting them in the area. They said they hope, however, that the Bill will help to address their challenges. Furthermore, they appealed to the committee to ensure that the infrastructure challenges at Eskom are addressed
Those who rejected the Bill told the committee that they do not believe it will assist in resolving Eskom’s many challenges. They also told the committee that they fear that the unbundling of Eskom will lead to the entity’s privatization in the end. They submitted that Eskom’s division into three separate entities may render the entity unable to adequately plan investments in generation, distribution, and transmission. They also said they believe that Eskom’s survival is being jeopardised by the entry into the energy generation space of independent power producers (IPPs).
The rise of IPPs may reduce the determination of electricity prices on profit grounds alone and place the price of electricity out of the reach of the poor, the committee heard.
The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Sahlulele Luzipo, thanked the participants for their valuable inputs on the Bill. He assured them that the committee will deliberate on all the submissions it received after it has reached all the provinces. He said the committee has conducted the hearings in eight provinces and it will be moving to the last province, the Eastern Cape from 27 to 30 November 2023.
He added: “This process will be followed by an intense process of discussing the Bill, taking into account all your submissions and we will table our final report in the National Assembly for consideration.” He also told the residents that those who wish to submit written inputs can send them to aboss@parliament.gov.za or akotze@parliament.gov.za and they have until 30 November to do so.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON MINERAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, MR SAHLULELE LUZIPO.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact:
Name: Malentsoe Magwagwa (Ms)
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E-mail: mmagwagwa@parliament.gov.za
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