The National Assembly’s portfolio committee on minerals and energy says communities in Mpumalanga have backed the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill, which will open competition with Eskom in electricity generation, following years of power cuts.
The community of Nkangala in Mpumalanga said they fully support the Bill to ensure stable supply of power in the country.
The hearings in Nkangala this week come after the committee held public hearings in other parts of the province.
Chairperson of the committee Zet Luzipo said the community called on Parliament to ensure that companies that will provide competition to Eskom do not inflate electricity prices.
“They told the committee that Parliament must ensure oversight over the tariffs the new companies will charge when they compete with Eskom, to avoid possible collusion, and that the new reforms must not affect jobs at Eskom.
“Others attending the public hearings, meanwhile, felt that there was no need for new companies to compete with Eskom. All that is needed is proper maintenance and servicing of power stations,” said Luzipho.
The committee held public hearings in Ehlanzeni, Gert Sibande and Nkangala district municipalities after the first set of hearings in Limpopo last week.
In the public hearings in Gert Sibande, the community wanted the government to bring in the competition to enable stable electricity supply to reduce load shedding.
They said the economy has lost billions of rands due to load shedding.
Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramakgopa said a few weeks ago that Stage 6 load shedding costs the economy R1 billion a day.
Many businesses have been forced to shut down because of the intensity of power cuts.
Luzipo said the community in Gert Sibande emphasised the need for a stable supply of electricity.
“Those who supported the Bill told the committee that the proposed idea of opening the market for competitive electricity trading, where Eskom will compete with private companies, should be welcomed and will help the country address the challenges of electricity shortages, which cost the economy billions of rand in losses due to unreliable power supply,” said Luzipo.
He added that other members of the community warned that this process must not be the complete privatisation of Eskom.
Politics