Power crisis - Mbeki steps in

2008-01-20 23:28

Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki held talks with the management of Eskom at his residence in Pretoria on Sunday night over the sweeping blackouts crippling the country, said presidential spokesperson Mukoni Ratshitanga.

"They briefed the President on the nature of the problem its extent and what it is they want to do to ameliorate the situation," he said.

They did not discuss any specific plans.

He said the Cabinet would make a pronouncement on the issue during its lekgotla taking place in Pretoria from Tuesday to Thursday.

In the meantime, Ratshitanga reiterated the message Eskom has been at pains to drive home to consumers - use less power.

He repeated Eskom's advice to consumers to switch off geysers and unnecessary lights.

Power exports stopped

Eskom announced on Sunday that, in light of the country's dire shortage of electricity, it had stopped supplying power to neighbouring countries.

It usually exported power to Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe when it had a surplus, said spokesperson Sipho Neke.

"When we don't have enough capacity for domestic use we don't sell electricity. There is no surplus so there are no exports," he said.

Of the electricity generated by Eskom, 95% is used locally.

Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia were reportedly gripped by power failures on Sunday night as a result of what was described as a major electrical fault.

ANC looking at interventions

South Africa's electricity crisis was debated at length at the African National Congress's three-day lekgotla which closed in Midrand on Sunday, said the party's secretary-general Gwede Mantashe.

The ANC would be looking into a number of interventions, he said.

"Rather than being in a state of panic (we should) deal with the issue proactively because it is actually positive that the country is growing to the extent that we actually exhaust the energy capacity," he said.

Instead of viewing the problem as an energy crisis, it should be seen as an indication that more efficient energy consumption was needed.

Legislation

The ANC's new spokesperson, Jesse Duarte, has suggested that businesses and residents might be given incentives for installing solar heating and that legislation could be implemented to ensure the use of energy-efficient lightbulbs.

Mbeki's talks on Sunday are in addition to discussions being held with Eskom by Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica.

They also come as the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana team up to probe the power crisis.

The SAHRC has voiced concern at the negative affect of the power cuts on the provision of essential services and, by extension, human rights.

Last week Mushwana told Eskom the outages were having a devastating effect on the government's service delivery.

On Sunday, the trade union Solidarity said it had created a website where businesses and ordinary South Africans could log their Eskom-related grievances.

Spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said the website was designed to pressurise Eskom and the government.

Eskom has warned that the blackouts will continue this week.

- SAPA