Private energy generators have been given free rein to develop their own power to ‘reduce the burden’ on an ailing Eskom, which has subjected the country to debilitating rolling blackouts for more than a decade.

According to a Mail & Guardian Online report, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced yesterday that Schedule Two of the Electricity Regulation Act would be amended to allow private generators to develop up to 100MW of power without requiring a licence from energy regulator Nersa.

The Schedule Two amendments would be published in 60 days or sooner, he said.

The previous threshold for private generation without a Nersa licence was 1MW.

In May, the DA called for this to be lifted to 50MW, and industry experts have been lobbying for a 10MW cap.

The President stressed that companies would be able to sell to municipalities. ‘They private producers will generate for themselves and be able to sell to others, their neighbours and all that,’ he said.

Full Mail & Guardian Online report

Ramaphosa denied that the decision will eventually lead to Eskom being privatised. Instead, he said Eskom would remain the key supplier of energy, notes a Cape Argus report.

It quotes energy expert Ted Blom as saying the decision to lift the licence threshold would go a long way to mitigate against load shedding as businesses were losing a lot of money.

He indicated that Ramaphosa took the decision after he was told businesses were going to close down and many people lose their jobs.

‘This is a crisis solution, the government will have to open up the grid completely,’ said Blom.

Parliamentary co-ordinator for Cosatu, Matthew Parks, said: ‘While this announcement will help bring additional energy generation capacity on the grid in the medium and long terms, it will not resolve the level four load shedding decimating the economy today. Cosatu had hoped to hear from the President on immediate measures to help address the current load-shedding crisis that is hobbling the economy …Eskom needs to be assisted in ramping up investments in maintenance to reduce the number of stations tripping.’

DA spokesperson on energy Kevin Mileham said the decision must be implemented urgently as the country was in the midst of stages three and four of load shedding.

He said further delays would plunge the country into more blackouts.

Full Cape Argus report