Progress being made on Eskom unbundling costs and funding: Ramokgopa
Ramokgopa says South Africa is taking a cautious approach to its electricity reform.
Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has revealed that considerable headway is being made in determining the costs and funding methods for separating Eskom. Speaking to the SABC NEWS during the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation’s annual forum in KwaZulu-Natal, Ramokgopa highlighted that policy is nearing completion to guarantee grid assets are transferred at their true market value. He was addressing joint efforts between his department, the Presidency, and the National Treasury.
Ramokgopa stated that a strategy has been crafted for the transfer of control of South Africa’s power grid to an independent Transmission System Operator. This phase is projected to incur expenses between R80 billion and R130 billion. Ramokgopa emphasized that to transfer the assets, a fair market value for the asset base on the transmission side must be established, which is currently under examination. The cost range could start as low as R80 billion and potentially increase up to R130 billion.
Ramokgopa stated that South Africa is adopting a cautious stance in its electricity reform efforts to avert any adverse effects. Some analysts have pointed out that the industry liberalization in nations like the United Kingdom and Australia proved unsuccessful, leading to soaring electricity prices. "We are observing what is transpiring in France, Germany, and the UK, and we are learning from those experiences.
We need to ensure our reform agenda does not result in unintended consequences that could increase our electricity costs."
Written by urgent.news from SABC News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
