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For the second time this year, legislation that will result in the reduction of the price of electricity has been blocked.

This morning the Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO) Bill was moved below the line on Parliament’s Order Paper, effectively preventing it from being passed this year.

The central aim of the ISMO Bill is to remove the operations of the electricity grid from Eskom and place it in an independent entity, making it easier for Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to enter the market, thereby reducing the price of electricity.

Eskom has resisted this move for over a decade and the DA suspects that there has been ministerial interference in the processes of Parliament, in order to avoid Eskom relinquishing their control of the grid.

This is the second time that the Bill has been blocked from being debated in Parliament, despite it being discussed and agreed upon by the Portfolio Committee on Energy both times.

In June this year, the ISMO Bill was referred back to the committee just before it was due to be passed by the National Assembly, without any real reason provided. For the last four months the Bill has been stuck in parliamentary limbo with the committee not being given any chance to reconsider it. Last week Friday the Energy Portfolio Committee finally deliberated on the Bill again and reached consensus to submit the Bill to Parliament for consideration.

Once again, however, without any consultation with the members of the portfolio committee, the Bill was suddenly placed below the line on the Order Paper yesterday which means that it will not be debated and voted on today.

This action is a clear signal that there is no commitment to the institutional restructuring of our electricity sector as called for as far back as the Energy White Paper of 1998. It is also an insult to the work of the Energy Committee that has spent over a year deliberating on this Bill and has sought to accommodate all of Eskom's concerns in its final draft. All of this work will now be lost due to powerful behind-the-scenes lobbying that has rode roughshod over the processes of Parliament.

The DA will continue to push for this Bill to have its day in Parliament. We cannot allow the fourth democratically elected parliament to rise and let this Bill lapse, as this will put back the much needed and long overdue restructuring of the electricity industry.