If you want to be free of the ANC’s electricity crisis, the DA has a plan

21 September 2021

Note to Editors: Please find attached pictures from DA Federal Leader John Steenhuisen's oversight visit to to the Modder East Substation in Ekurhuleni, here and here. 

In this election, voters can vote to free themselves from the ANC’s electricity crisis.

Today, DA Federal Leader, John Steenhuisen, and DA Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Kevin Mileham, conducted an oversight visit to the Modder East substation in Ekurhuleni which went up in flames last night, leaving large parts of the metro without electricity. It is time for South Africa to be liberated from the ANC’s electricity crisis, symbolized by electricity outages

This is a regular occurrence in Ekurhuleni due to the abject failure of the municipality to secure a stable and reliable electricity supply in the metro, coupled with failures at a national level by Eskom which has ageing and rapidly decaying infrastructure and declining generation capacity.

Ekurhuleni is one of hundreds of municipalities plagued by rolling blackouts and electricity collapse due to decades of infrastructure neglect and corruption which has hollowed out local government capacity, severely compromising the provision of basic services.

What South Africa’s local municipalities need is a DA-led administration to liberate them from our country’s electricity crisis – residents deserve a government that gets things done to keep the lights on and grow local economies. In metros and local municipalities where the DA governs, electricity supply is stable and reliable, and we are even making groundbreaking advances to offset load shedding, break Eskom’s tenuous monopoly on electricity supply, and give residents and consumers more choice to be energy independent.

In the DA-led City of Cape Town, we have made use of the 160 megawatts Steenbras Hydro Pump Station as part of the Steenbras Dam to supplement our electricity supply when needed. The result is that Cape Town is able to offset stages 1 and 2 of Eskom’s load shedding by feeding our own supply into the grid. So while the rest of South Africa sits in the dark, Cape Town still shines bright.

In DA-led Stellenbosch, our Mayor Gesie van Deventer has signed a memorandum of understanding with partners in the private sector to break free from Eskom entirely. In line with the Electricity Regulation Act promulgated in 2020, Stellenbosch has begun the process to become the first municipality in South Africa to become completely energy independent, purchasing electricity from independent power producers using green and sustainable alternatives. This is what happens when you vote for a party that gets things done.

At a national level, the DA is also pushing for more enabling legislation for independent power producers to open up the grid and create a competitive and thriving energy sector in South Africa. Our Independent Electricity Management Operator (IEMO) Bill, also known as the Cheaper Electricity Bill, was tabled at parliament in December 2019 to create an independent public-private partnership that would manage grid operations and electricity planning, source electricity from a variety of generation plants, and sell it to municipal and industrial customers. We are tackling the root cause of electricity collapse right at the source to free South Africans from the crippling effects of load shedding under the ANC.

The story of Ekurhuleni is not unique – towns and municipalities across South Africa have no energy security at the hands of incompetent ANC governments. We need a solution out of this crisis where the needs of South Africans are placed above the needs of greedy ANC cadres.

The DA has a plan to fix South Africa’s electricity woes, but we need a clear mandate in municipalities across the country. In this election, it is time to vote for a party that has a proven track record of delivery and a promise for more. In this election, South Africans must lend their votes to the DA, because the DA is the only party that gets things done.

Issued by John Steenhuisen, Leader of the Democratic Alliance, 21 September 2021