The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has passed a proposed law aimed at ending Eskom’s 100-year electricity monopoly officially. The Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill will formalise measures to open up the market for competitive electricity trading.
Once signed and formalised, the Bill will ensure greater participation by the private sector in electricity generation.
However, the power utility will maintain its exclusive control of the transmission business.
According to energy analyst Samson Mamphweli, once the Bill is enacted, there won’t be steep increases in tariffs. He adds this will be due to the wide competition that will likely infiltrate the market.
“There will be Independent Power Producers producing electricity much cheaper than what Eskom is willing to sell to the transmission operator. That kind of competition is necessary for the country, so that we have lower electricity prices going forward,” he says.
