CONFIRMED - ANC government is putting political pressure on Eskom to burn more diesel: DA wants answers
10 May 2024
Protestations and repeated denials by Eskom Board Chair Mteto Nyati and the Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, that Eskom was burning more diesel to keep the lights on have fallen flat after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) confirmed that Eskom is rapidly depleting its diesel budget for the 2024/2025 financial year at an alarming rate.
According to NERSA, Eskom has already blown more than half of its quarterly budget of diesel for the first quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year in just one month. As the regulator responsible for the allocation of Eskom’s diesel allocation for Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs), NERSA revealed that Eskom has already hit 168.5 gigawatt hours (GwH) of the electricity that it is allowed to produce using diesel for the first quarter from April to June 2024.
Further according to the weekly newspaper, the Mail and Guardian, insiders within Eskom are saying that Eskom’s diesel spend is edging towards R7 billion and this is linked to political pressure related to the upcoming elections.
The DA will be submitting an official Public Protector complaint against the Ramaphosa administration based on prima facie evidence that it overstepped its authority and directly interfered in the operation of Eskom for political advantage in an election year. In addition, we will make the case that they deliberately used false information to mislead members of the public on Eskom’s diesel use because they wanted to cover up their political scheme.