Ever since his appointment, Ramokgopa has doubled down on the «unreliable» coal stations by suggesting that their lifespan must be extended and the taxpayers foot the bill, says the DA.
« Now the chickens have come home to roost as the country is plunged into yet another bout of stage 6 load shedding with a possibility of further escalation, » the DA said in a statement.
According to DA Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Kevin Mileham, what Ramokgopa and the ANC government fail to understand is that this has been the primary cause of the 16-year-old load shedding crisis; and that regardless of how hard Eskom runs its coal-fired power stations, they will never be able to meet South Africa’s current energy demand. That ship has sailed, says Mileham, and as long as Ramokgopa and his ANC colleagues continue to beat this drum, South Africa will continue to be in the dark for years with devastating economic consequences.
South Africa should be working towards a deregulated, competitive, reliable and affordable energy supply to end load-shedding. Several Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects are currently in the pipeline and every effort should be made to ensure that adequate support is provided for their connection to the grid in the shortest time possible.
“Renewable energy generation in South Africa will struggle to take off as long as the ANC continues to stand in the way of communities that are trying to free themselves from Eskom loadshedding. Just yesterday, the DA carried out an oversight visit to the town of Frankfort in the Free State where Eskom is trying to stop solar farms from supplying the community.” said DA Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Kevin Mileham
The ANC’s « obstinacy » is deliberately preventing South Africa’s best and brightest, the country’s innovators, and entrepreneurs, from stepping up to solve this critical problem, according to Mileham.