DA seeks to break Eskom’s power monopoly
The party’s proposed bill recommends establishing an independent state-owned body, tasked with buying electricity from electricity generators and selling it to distributors and customers at a wholesale tariff
The DA will formally table a bill which it says, if enacted, will end Eskom’s monopoly and lower electricity prices. The power utility holds a monopoly over power plants and the transmission of electricity, with observers saying this has directly contributed to the escalating costs. Analysts have said the best way of ending the Eskom’s monopoly is to separate transmission and distribution assets from the power-generation business. In its Independent System and Market Operator Bill, the DA proposes the establishment of an independent body, owned by the state, tasked with buying electricity from electricity generators. The operator would function as a wholesaler of electricity that sells it to distributors and customers at a wholesale tariff, DA leader Mmusi Maimane said on Monday. The entity would function independently to electricity-generation businesses to ensure fairness between generators, and encourage competition and innovation, he said. It will also be responsible for buying ...
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