• Dr Khosientsho Ramokgopa has officially been entrusted with his scope and powers as Minister of Electricity.
• The minister will assume all powers and functions related to electricity previously in the hand of Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy.
• Dr Ramokgopa’s scope has also been delineated as a single point of command for government to handle the ongoing power crisis.

South Africa’s Minister of Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has been given “all powers and functions” relating to electricity that were previously entrusted to the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has also transferred to Minister Ramokgopa several other powers and functions previously set out in the Electricity Regulation Act, according to a press statement from government published on Friday.

According to Section 34 of the Electricity Regulation Act, the minister may now, in consultation with the Regulator:

• “(a) determine that new generation capacity is needed to ensure the continued uninterrupted supply of electricity;
• (b) determine the types of energy sources from which electricity must be generated, and the percentages of electricity that must be generated from such sources;
• (c) determine that electricity thus produced may only be sold to the persons or in the manner set out in such notice;
• (d) determine that electricity thus produced must be purchased by the persons set out in such notice;
• (e) require that new generation capacity must –
• (i) be established through a tendering procedure which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective;
• (ii) provide for private sector participation.”

“This proclamation will provide the Minister of Electricity with the powers necessary to direct the procurement of new generation capacity and ensure security of supply,” says Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President.

Earlier this week, government indicated that it was finalising the outlining of what exactly the Ministry in the Presidency responsible for Electricity has been empowered to do. The station was created by President Ramaphosa during the State of the Nation Address 2023.

Since then, the Electricity Minister has conducted several tours of Eskom’s power stations, and has established a fund to reportedly aid in solving South Africa’s ongoing power crisis.

Now officially, according to the Presidency, the minister will oversee all aspects of the electricity crisis response, including the work of the National Energy Crisis Committee. “This will provide a single point of command for government’s efforts to close the shortfall in electricity supply,” the presidency explains.

“The Minister will work full-time with the Eskom board and management to end load-shedding and ensure that the Energy Action Plan announced by the President is implemented without delay.”

South Africa’s Eskom-induced electricity crisis continues unabated, with seemingly endless daily power outages. The government-owned energy utility indicated earlier this month that these outages will only worsen as we head into the winter period.

[[Image – CC BY-ND 2.0 GovernmentZA on Flickr]