The department of public enterprises, power utility Eskom, and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) could find themselves in court over load shedding, reported the City Press.
Prominent advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi SC confirmed to City Press on Friday (13 January 2023) that he had the backing of major groups and individuals to take the government and Eskom to court.
These included the United Democratic Movement (UDM), Build One SA leader Mmusi Maimane, policy analyst Lukhona Mnguni, and several small NGOs in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and Limpopo, said City Press.
Additionally, the executive head of the Solidarity movement Dirk Hermann, said that his organisation would be in court in two weeks in connection with load shedding.
Ngcukaitobi said the government had made contradictory statements regarding its plans to stop load shedding. He added that Eskom’s “arbitrary way” of deciding on load shedding stages without warning is unacceptable.
“There’s a constitutional duty of Eskom and government in general to give every citizen access to reliable electricity. Load shedding is therefore unconstitutional.”
“We want to force it through the court to disclose its plan if one exists. The general lack of accountability and transparency must stop,” said Ngcukaitobi.
He said that court documents were likely to be served on Eskom, Nersa and the department of public enterprises this coming week.
This challenge comes after the failing national power utility Eskom announced stage 6 load shedding until further notice – the same week, Nersa also granted an almost 19% increase in the electricity price to the power utility for 2023 and nearly 13% for 2024.
Several sectors of society, including energy and economic analysts, have noted that the current state of energy generation and the increased costs are unsustainable for South Africa.
Activist group, Rise Mzansi, said that the effects of load shedding, a tariff increase more than three times the rate of inflation, and the rest of South Africa’s crumbling infrastructure presents an emerging picture of a country facing failure and collapse.
According to CEO of Debt Rescue, Neil Roets, the repercussions of rolling blackouts already pose a serious threat to the lives and livelihoods of people – not least of which pertaining to food security – at a time when over 80% of families are battling to put enough food on the table.
In a meeting with agriculture minister Thoko Didiza on Friday (13 January 2023), stakeholders in the agricultural sector said that if the country’s farmers are not put on different load shedding schedules, the country will lose its food security in the next 24 months.
Stakeholders also stressed that load shedding and increased tariffs would drastically curtail the agricultural sector’s job creation capacity.
Agri SA’s CEO Christo van der Rheede told City Press that the sword hanging over the agricultural sector’s head was something government dared not ignore, as anarchy could erupt if action is not taken soon.
Roets added that other repercussions are the possibility of more businesses closing down – especially small businesses that simply don’t have the capital to invest in costly alternative power generators – and the consequences in terms of unemployment when they are forced to let people go.
“There can be no economic stability without a stable power supply,” he said.
Click here to read the full article: https://stocks24.co.za/2023/01/15/plans-to-take-eskom-and-the-government-to-court-amid-stage-6-load-shedding-report/