Reign in Ramokgopa, before he causes more damage
24 March 2023
The new Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, seems to open his mouth to change feet. His latest assertion, that the unbundling of ESKOM is not a priority, undermines years of work to open up South Africa’s electricity sector to independent power producers and highlights the ANC government’s unresolved confusion on how to solve the electricity crisis.
With one reckless remark, Ramokgopa has shown that his new portfolio was created without any real plan in place. That no one from the ANC government has called him to order, least of all, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office, confirms the long-held suspicion that the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.
The danger of Ramokgopa’s loose cannon tendencies on energy policy (a remit that actually belongs to Gwede Mantashe, about whom the less said the better), is that it will create further uncertainty among investors who have invested significant resources in independent power generation projects across the country. In the midst of a devastating electricity crisis, what South Africa needs is clear direction and policy certainty.
Independent experts have warned that any delays to unbundle Eskom will severely constrain an Independent Transmission System Operator's ability to raise capital and do the much-needed grid investments to unlock new generation capacity. This was underscored in December 2022, when it was revealed that 23 green power projects in the last round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme could not be awarded due to grid constraints. We must urgently invest in upgrading our grid infrastructure and building new transmission lines – something that just won’t happen, if Ramokgopa has his way.