The Congress of the People welcomes reports that Eskom has decided to revise its proposed 45 percent per annum increase of the price of electricity over the next three years. These increases would have dampened growth, hamstrung our economy and been a burden on all South Africans.

COPE recognises that Eskom is a key driver of economic growth in South Africa, and indeed the southern African region. The parastatal has to be responsible in its administration, vision and practices. Its position as the only energy producer for South Africa is one of the reasons for its insensitivity and aloofness to the consequences of its autocratic decisions. The fact that it is beholden to the coal mining industry makes this problem even worse.

While Eskom is currently reviewing the proposal for price increases, we call for the process by which it reaches its final decision to be more transparent, public and inclusive, and sensitive to the potential knock-on effects on the South African economy over the next few decades. This, together with a well constructed justification for any further price increase, will go some way in restoring public confidence in Eskom.

COPE will be launching the campaign for Clean, Affordable, Sustainable Energy (CASE) this week. We will be working towards ending the monopoly Eskom has in the energy generation sector, among other things. We believe that the value of renewable energy has thus far been overlooked by both government and Eskom, and a greener economy can create potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next few years, as well as being environmentally desirable.