Public involvement and a different perspective on Eskom can help fix energy problems, writes XhantiPayi
With renewable energy an increasingly viable and profitable business, people and communities need the opportunity to invest in independent power producersIn the latter years of her life my grandmother had to have frequent visits to the doctor. While we lived in Cape Town, she lived in Johannesburg — an overnight bus trip to visit us. And so many of her visits were health or doctor’s visits.
A look at the troubles Eskom is faced with should convince us that our perspectives about and obsession with Eskom need to change. Eskom’s debt now stands at nearly half-a-trillion rand. The question of whether Eskom will ever be in a position to pay this back without the government’s intervention cannot be avoided.
Further, high-energy users are reducing their operations and thus their demand for electricity. For example, BHP, one of the world’s largest mining concerns and a major consumer of electricity, is on record as planning to divest from SA, selling Billiton Energy Coal SA, the Hillside and Mozal aluminium smelters and its entire stake in Samancor, the biggest producer of manganese in SA.Households are starting to find alternative sources of energy, and solar has become highly sought after.
Second, as an economist I’m often asked how, in the tough times, people can tighten their belts. Renewable energy has the great advantage of stable and predictable prices. This will be a great reprieve for the many low-earning workers of our country.
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