Throwing money at Eskom is no solution to the country’s power problems. Eskom should stop doing maintenance “at all costs”, improve the quality of maintenance and adhere to coal management protocols.
That is the view of the National Energy Regulator (Nersa) that has the final say over the money Eskom can recover through electricity tariffs from South Africans.
Following the recent load shedding and power emergencies, Eskom has been saying that it has to renew short-term power purchase agreements (STPPA) with private electricity producers to keep the lights on, but no provision was made for the expense in the budget allocated by Nersa.  Read more…