SOUTH Africa’s only opposition-led province plans to facilitate the construction of almost 6 GW of power generation capacity to counter nationwide electricity shortages and bolster the regional economy.
The Western Cape aims to add as much as 750 MW of supply by 2025 and to reach 5 700 MW by 2035, Premier Alan Winde, a member of the Democratic Alliance, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Cape Town office on Wednesday. That should be sufficient to meet demand as the provincial economy expands.
State-owned utility Eskom, which generates more than 90% of the nation’s electricity, has been forced to implement rotational blackouts on a daily basis since 2008, with outages currently at record levels. South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has announced emergency measures and declared a state of disaster to help it address the crisis, but there’s no sign of it abating in the near term.
Winde met with Eskom’s former Chief Executive Officer Andre de Ruyter, shortly after
You’ve reached your free article limit
Subscribe to enjoy unlimited access to trusted journalism. Cancel anytime.
Subscribe nowNeed help? molokom@insidepolitic.co.za
