Calls to privatise Eskom to ease power crisis

Say it with a sting.....

August 28, 2008, 20:45

The Free Market Foundation (FMF) has asked for the privatisation of the energy market for the electricity crisis to be solved.

FMF Director Leon Louw says Eskom alone is not to blame for the electricity crisis. He blamed Ministers responsible for energy policy and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa). He says Nersa imposed conditions that kept competitors out of the market. Its licensing system meant that companies with existing surplus capacity could not help by selling electricity.

Meanwhile, Eskom says it's optimistic the new campaign to conserve energy in South Africa - by replacing millions of conventional light globes with energy-saving ones - will soon begin to yield positive results. They plan to swap one ordinary light globe in each household in the country for an energy-saving one for free.

Eskom says four of the familiar light bulbs use the same amount of electricity as one of the new fluorescent light bulbs. Eskom's managing director of corporate services, Steve Lennon, says their target is to save 750 megawatts of electricity in households.


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RELATED LINKS
Eskom home page

The Free Market Foundation has asked for the privatisation of the energy market.

Comments by Sonny

What about all the money (our money), the government has pumped into Eskom.
Is it going to be used for 'performance bonuses?'
It is becoming a regular occurrence, that we have blackouts around Midnight, which lasts for an hour or two.
We even had our water cut and the excuse given by City Water was that, it was an 'electrical problem!'
Oh, maybe we should have blamed City Power for the break down.
Does the tail wag the dog here?