Electricity shortfall looming

2008-06-27 14:40

Troye Lund

Cape Town - President Thabo Mbeki's National Stakeholder Advisory Council on Electricity (NSCAE) has warned that if consumers do not further reduce power usage, there could be a shortfall in coming weeks.

As a result, says the council, major users - mostly in the minerals value chain - will continue to bear the "burden of the emergency" in the form of reduced supply.

While business representatives council are optimistic that there'll be a significant contribution to power supply through co-generation projects in the coming months, the council - established at May's National Electricity Summit - has called on consumers to do better than their current 4% saving on electricity consumption.

"Both public buildings like retail malls, office and government buildings, as well as households can and must do more," the council said.

It is chaired by Mbeki and comprises senior leaders from government, business, community and labour - the four constituencies that make up the National Economic Development & Labour Council (Nedlac).

In a statement released after the meeting, the council said: "While we appreciate the savings that have been attained by the industry, we still believe more can be achieved through efficiency in production and maintenance.

"Higher electricity prices have become unavoidable, although it is agreed that government should mitigate the impact on poor households and communities. Households can reduce their bills by limiting electricity use."

In addition, the meeting agreed on the importance of fast-tracking a protocol for new connections and measures to encourage increased generation of electricity.

The NSACE will be the primary point of contact for business, labour and government in respect of policy implementation. The council also adopted an action plan to provide support for increasing energy efficiencies and upping the supply of electricity. This includes fast tracking co-generation, supporting Eskom's programme to build new capacity and improve its skills base, and enhance maintenance across the electricity supply chain.

Pricing of electricity is also on the council's agenda; it will monitor and advise on the new tariff directives at Eskom and local government level.

It also intends to engage with government on proposals for load shedding, rationing and new connections for large projects.

- Fin24.com

- Finance24