Opposition parties on Tuesday voiced their concern over Eskom’s inability to avert a power crisis in the country, with the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) calling for the appointment of a multiparty task team to handle the situation.
In a letter addressed to Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica, FF+ spokesperson on energy Willie Spies said it was evident that the government did not have the capacity to deal with the current power crisis.
”… the minister of minerals and energy … [must] appoint a multiparty task team to, in the national interest, work out a plan of action in order to resolve the power crisis in South Africa,” he said.
He said the party was seriously concerned about Eskom’s ability to provide power during the winter months to meet demands.
The Democratic Alliance said the government must be called to account for the latest spate of Eskom power cuts.
”Eskom is fully funded by the state, and the ministers of minerals and energy, public enterprises and ultimately the Cabinet should be held responsible for this catastrophe,” DA minerals and energy spokesperson Hendrik Schmidt said in a statement.
The DA would be calling for a parliamentary debate on the matter as soon as possible.
”It is clear that the resolution of this matter is of urgent national importance.
”The recent spate of electricity cuts, euphemistically called ‘load shedding’, is becoming unmanageable for ordinary South Africans, who are bearing the brunt of random, arbitrary and long-lasting power cuts,” he said.
There were numerous problems with the process being followed to reduce electricity consumption.
”Eskom’s undertaking to make available a time schedule of load shedding throughout the country is not working. In addition … certain areas are having their power cut without notice, and the power supply to other areas has been cut up to three times in a 24-hour period.
”This situation has severe financial implications for both large and small enterprises; any attempt at forward planning is totally negated by unscheduled electricity cuts.”
Schmidt said recent unscheduled shutdowns at a number of power stations were also of concern.
”These shutdowns either illustrate a lack of informed forward planning in the maintenance of the affected power stations, or suggest problems with the quality of maintenance executed,” he said. — Sapa