The South African Cabinet has given its approval to the proposal to create six regional electricity distributors (REDs) which will be established as public entities under the auspices of the Electricity Distribution Industry (EDI).
This was confirmed on Thursday — after the Cabinet’s meeting on Wednesday.
Asked if this effectively meant that a seventh national RED idea had been scrapped, government spokesperson Themba Maseko said: “The idea of a seventh RED by implication was not approved.”
However, he said, that the idea could be revisited at a later stage.
The first RED was launched in Cape Town — serving the Western Cape and Northern Cape — in July last year.
REDs, according to the Department of Minerals and Energy Affairs, will consist of Eskom Distribution and the local authorities. They will buy electricity from power generators such as Eskom at wholesale prices determined by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa. – I-Net Bridge