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Eskom - SA unfairly penalised?
07/05/2008 21:34 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The Democratic Alliance will ask parliamentary questions to determine whether South Africans are being unfairly penalised regarding electricity supplies, the party said on Wednesday.
Not only had electricity exports to neighbouring countries increased in the year to March 2008, but Eskom had also provided less electricity to South Africans over the same period, spokesperson Manie van Dyk said.
This while South Africans had been forced to contend with crippling rolling blackouts, power rationing and load shedding.
The DA wanted to know from Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin whether neighbouring countries were in fact receiving preferential treatment at the expense of South Africans, he said.
Electricity exports increased in the three months to March 2008 and in March itself by 6% and 1% respectively, while the distribution of electricity to the nine provinces by Eskom dropped by 1.7% and 4.5% respectively, he said.
Erwin's assertions doubted
This cast serious doubts on Erwin's assertions in February that Eskom's foreign and domestic customers received "the same treatment".
"In light of his February statements and his role as Minister of Public Enterprises, Alec Erwin must justify why electricity exports rose while power distributed to South Africa by Eskom has declined," Van Dyk said.
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