Plans to restructure Eskom are under way. File picture: (ESOlex)
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The government’s decision to approve the first phase of Eskom’s restructuring could eventually lead to the privatisation and increased private-sector control of the electricity grid, according to the National Union of Mineworkers (Num).
President Cyril Ramaphosa has approved the first phase of the Eskom restructuring task team report, which recommends establishing an independent transmission system operator (TSO) separate from Eskom.
The project has been under discussion since the late 1990s and was rejected by Cosatu in 2014.
Ramaphosa said the restructuring is intended to encourage competition, attract investment and strengthen energy security. The proposed TSO would run the transmission system independently from Eskom’s generation section and other functions.
This is against a backdrop of mounting municipal debt to Eskom of R118bn that severely threatens its financial sustainability and the entity’s own debt of almost R300bn.
The union believes splitting Eskom’s transmission business from the rest of the utility could weaken Eskom’s control over the electricity network and open the door for more private companies to play a bigger role in supplying power. The union said this could eventually lead to higher electricity costs, reduced public control over a key national service, and uncertainty over jobs in the electricity sector.
Num general secretary Mpho Phakedi said the union was not opposed to improving Eskom but rejected reforms that could weaken public ownership.
“Electricity is a strategic national asset. Eskom workers have carried the burden of keeping the grid stable, and their livelihoods must be protected.”
Phakedi said workers should not lose their jobs or see their employment conditions weakened as a result of the restructuring, and the Num is demanding guarantees that this will not happen.
The union also wants organised labour to be involved in decisions affecting Eskom employees.
“Labour must not be treated as passive observers in decisions that affect thousands of livelihoods,” Phakedi said.
The union wants the government to prioritise Eskom’s municipal debt revenue collection and governance before implementing major structural changes.
It also opposes transferring strategic assets, infrastructure, employees or operational functions from the National Transmission Company of South Africa to a new TSO without comprehensive consultation with organised labour.
Sowetan