- Johannesburg’s newly sworn-in Mayor promises to push electricity reforms
- Commits to migrating supply from Eskom to municipal utility
- Stakeholders skeptical on the migration plan
The newly sworn-in Mayor of Johannesburg, Mayor Mpho Moerane, has announced his plans for the 2021/2022 financial year. Moerane promises to resolve the power supply challenges in the municipal by implementing the migration plan for electricity consumers in the city. Johannesburg plans to migrate areas currently being supplied by state-owned utility Eskom to the city’s municipal power utility, City Power. Moerane says the migration will ensure the reliability of the electricity supply for the city’s residents.
”Considering that there is a great amount of debt attributed to Johannesburg residents’ Eskom account holders, to manage the cost of electricity supply, reliability of supply and demand pressure on City Power, the city is also looking at introducing an alternative energy mix. This will include mini-grids, solar panels, gas, and smart meters that will enable households to closely monitor and manage their consumption.’ Moerane said.
Leader of the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee, King Sibiya, is, however, not as optimistic on Moerane’s migration plan. ”In my view, the mayor’s plan is great but does not resolve the issue with Eskom power supply because even if we were moved to City Power, the city still has to source the electricity from Eskom. The only exception from our end is that we won’t have to deal with Eskom directly,” Sibiya says.
”My biggest concern with the plan is how it has been isolated from the city of Joburg residents; there was no consultation for public participation,” he added.
Outstanding bills payments, vandalism, cable theft, and irregular maintenance of ageing infrastructure continues to impede electricity supply in the city. Moerane acknowledges the migration is a long term process, with negotiations are currently ongoing with Eskom. He added that a date for the start of the migration would be duly communicated.