- R25 billion lost to load shedding
- Eskom implementing stage 4 load shedding
- Amendment to Electricity Act a welcomed development
The Western Cape Municipal has commended the amendment to the South African Electricity Act allowing for private investments in the sector. President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced the amendment to the Act to allow investments up to 100MW in the generation sector. According to David Maynier, the Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities Western Cape Municipal, the country had lost at least R25 billion to incessant load shedding.
”With load shedding costing South Africa’s economy R500 million per stage, per day, and the Western Cape’s economy R75 million per stage, per day, over the last two weeks load shedding has cost the South African economy approximately R25 billion, and the Western Cape approximately R3.85 billion”, Maynier said.
He added that the interventions were a welcome development that will spur private sector investments and improve electricity generation to make up for the deficits suffered by state-owned utility Eskom. This week Eskom implemented stage 4 load shedding due to the failure of some generation plants.
President Ramaphosa had called the inventions a determination by his administration to end load shedding and its impact on lives and businesses. ”This intervention reflects our determination to take the necessary action to achieve energy security and reduce the impact of load shedding on businesses and households across the country”, Ramaphosa said.