The only way to address the electricity crisis in SA is to allow for a proper energy mix. We also need to make sure that the generation, distribution and transmission of electricity remain in the hands of the state.
The privatisation of electricity generation, distribution and transmission will only result in electricity poverty. It will perpetuate the imbalances of the past. Poor people will be side-lined and remain without energy. SA remains the number one unequal society in the world as per World Bank statistics. The only way to change this embarrassing state is to allow the government to intervene in economic activities.
The plan to unbundle Eskom is the first step toward privatising it. The trajectory that is taken by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration is that of putting the interest of the private sector first.
We have witnessed the deliberate destruction of state-owned companies to give them to private hands. It happened to SAA, Post Office, Denel, Prasa and now Eskom. All these entities have been rendered to the level of being insolvent to privatise them. The modus operandi is to destroy all the state-owned companies and build from their ashes new but privately owned entities.
Eskom is forced to stop using coal as its primary energy in favour of renewable energy. Most of these renewables come in the form of privately owned entities or renewable energy independent power producers (REIPPs). What is of great concern is that most of these REIPPs are owned by foreign companies with minority shares being owned by politically connected South Africans.
While fundamentally there is no problem with renewables, the problem is the way the renewables are structured in this country in terms of ownership.
Renewables are necessary for a balanced energy mix, but they must be socially owned. The private sector and its free-market rhetoric are not for social justice but for profit maximisation. Poor South Africans will not be able to afford electricity produced by the private sector. Small businesses are already closing down due to load shedding, unaffordable electricity prices and the effect of Covid-19.
The concern with this arrangement where most REIPPs are foreign owned is that it undermines our sovereignty as a country. We need to learn from the current events in European countries, especially Germany. Germany closed its nuclear and coal power stations in favour of renewable energy. It is supplementing renewables using gas which is mostly supplied by Russia.
The war between Russia and Ukraine is creating serious energy security problems for Germany. Most renewables are not reliable. The sun doesn't shine every day and also the wind doesn't always blow. For this reason, Germany started to rely more on importing energy from countries such as France and Russia. For a country to remain uncompromised in terms of energy security of supply, it needs to be self-sufficient.
The energy sector must be democratic. It must respond to social challenges, be socially owned and there must be security of supply. The energy sector which is private and foreign-owned will compromise the security of supply in case there are conflicts.
We need to learn from the energy crisis that rocked California in the year 2000. This energy crisis was caused by among other things that the energy sector was privatised. The problem was that during the hard financial difficult times where companies are making losses, the companies just close down regardless of the reality that they are producing the lost needed energy for the country.
This realisation must inform us as a nation to make energy a public-owned sector. The free market economy is not for social justice but for profit maximisation. We cannot compromise the security of supply to please the free-market lobbyists.
The energy security of supply is at the centre of the security of our sovereignty. If the supply of energy is controlled by foreign private hands, they can easily sabotage us during a time of war.
• Baloyi is the NUM energy sector co-ordinator. He writes in his personal capacity.
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