Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has defended in an affidavit the implementation of rotational load shedding, saying that a total electricity blackout would have a catastrophic impact on the economy, and the social unrest that could follow.
This comes as Eskom has been implementing rotational power cuts of up to Stage 6 due to breakdowns at its ageing coal-fired power plants in a bid to save the national grid from complete collapse.
In a 153-page affidavit filed in a matter between the United Democratic Movement (UDM) and 17 others, De Ruyter said load shedding was implemented to save the national electricity grid from complete collapse and a resulting national blackout.
De Ruyter said if supply and demand were not kept in balance on the national electricity grid, the grid would collapse and the entire country would experience a blackout or total loss in electricity supply.
The former CEO, who left Eskom a month before the end of his notice period, said it was also impossible to predict with any certainty how long such a blackout would last.
However, De Ruyter said Eskom estimated that it could take up to several weeks to restore the electricity grid, that length of time being highly dependent on the state of the grid when the blackout occured.
“Without wishing to sound alarmist, the consequences of such a blackout would be catastrophic. Some of the likely impacts are identifiable from international experiences of extended blackouts (such as the week-long blackout in Venezuela in March, 2019),” De Ruyter said.
“They include the loss or interruption of water supply and sewerage treatment; the shut down of telephone and internet services; rationing and shortages of liquid fuel (petrol and diesel) with knock-on impacts on transport, industry and institutions that depend on liquid fuel to run backup generators (including hospitals, laboratories, mortuaries); digital platforms.
This included “payment platforms and automatic teller machines not running with the consequence of a shortage of hard currency; chaos on the roads, as traffic lights go down; shops and residents will struggle to keep produce fresh, and food supplies will be impacted; and a high risk of looting, vandalism and public unrest.
“Self-evidently, a blackout is a risk that South Africa cannot afford to take,” his affidavit said.
De Ruyter was replying in a court case brought by the UDM, Action SA and 17 others seeking to declare the government’s response to load shedding unconstitutional and breaching a number of fundamental human rights.
The applicants are asking the court to declare that certain sectors such as safety and healthcare be exempted from load shedding.
The case is set to be heard on March 20 in the Gauteng North High Court in Pretoria.
De Ruyter said while the immediate cause of load shedding was the current shortfall in electricity supply, the reasons for that shortfall were complex and could be traced back decades.
Since at least 1998, Eskom had been calling on the government to urgently invest in new generation capacity in the light of increasing electricity demand.
“Eskom was divested of its independent mandate and means to invest in new generation capacity after it was converted into a state-owned enterprise,” he said.
“With the building of new power stations delayed for over a decade, Eskom has had to run its ageing coal fleet at far higher usage levels than accepted international industry practice, and defer planned maintenance.”
The plastics industry yesterday said it was especially exposed when it came to load shedding due to the fact that the processing and production of plastics and plastic products were done primarily through thermal processing.
“A significant amount of time and material is wasted, which has a knock-on effect on our operating costs, staffing, and production,” said Anton Hanekom, Plastics SA executive director.
“Revenues are being eroded and thousands of jobs are being threatened in an industry that is a priority sector and contributes about 17% of the country’s manufacturing GDP,” he warned.
Meanwhile, in his replying affidavit President Cyril Ramaphosa – who is cited as one of the respondents – has distanced himself from allegations of being a “Constitutional delinquent”, saying that the law placed the responsibility for electricity provision on municipalities.
Ramaphosa said the mere fact that his best efforts might not have produced the results desired by the applicants did not mean that he had failed to uphold, defend and respect the Constitution.
He said it was now accepted that municipalities were in law required to provide water and electricity as a matter of public duty, but this duty did not lie with the president or any of the national departments cited as respondents.
“Municipalities do not have the necessary capacity to supply electricity in circumstances where Eskom has determined that load shedding must be implemented,” Ramaphosa said.
“Accordingly, if municipalities do not for one reason or another supply electricity to their people, the Constitution does not say that the president must go down to the local government and do it.
“If there is no electricity available for one reason or another, equitable access is impossible. The applicants have not made out a case to demonstrate that municipalities have failed to provide equitable access to their people,” he said.
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