Question NW55 to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
03 April 2023 - NW55
Brink, Mr C to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Whether the Government has a detailed disaster management plan in place in the event that the risk of a total collapse of the national electricity grid occurs, in which there will be a complete and prolonged electricity outage affecting Eskom; if not, by what date will such a plan be in place; if so, (a) what are the different steps that will be taken in terms of such a plan, (b) what events will prompt each of the specified steps and (c) who are the role players that will be responsible for each step? NW55E
Reply:
The Energy Action Plan was developed through extensive consultation and endorsed by energy experts as providing the best and fastest path towards energy security. Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act has been amended to remove the licensing requirement for generation projects, which will significantly accelerate private investment. Since the licensing threshold was first raised to 100 MW, the pipeline of private sector projects has grown to more than 100 projects with over 9000 MW of capacity. The first of these large-scale projects are expected to connect to the grid by the end of this year. Noting that the President on behalf of government announced the declaration of a national state of disaster to respond to the electricity/energy crisis and its effects, which was subsequently Gazetted by Minister of CoGTA. The government is in the process of developing a detailed plan on how to deal with national electricity challenge to prevent a total collapse of the grid. The government will make a pronouncement once these plans are finalised.
End.