Speaker,

Honourable Members,

We have called this debate to discuss a matter of grave national importance.

It is now commonly accepted that we are in the midst of a full blown energy crisis.
   
This crisis has been brought on by the failure of the ANC government and Eskom to take note of all the warning signs, and plan ahead.

Now this crisis is holding our economy to ransom, and making a mockery of our attempts to create jobs.

The energy crisis affects everyone in our land – from industries who require it for production, to people who require power to cook, or light to study - electricity has become a basic need.

When the lights go off it is not just an inconvenience, it directly effects our quality of life, our safety and our security.

Honourable Members, energy is the lifeblood of our economy.

In fact, energy is so vital to economic growth, that in 2012 the World Economic Forum gave it a primary position in the maintenance and improvement of living standards of people the world over.

South Africa is no exception.

We have been left with the legacy of an economy that is extremely energy intensive. Even with the best economic policies in place, without the underlying energy infrastructure to support them, our economy will not prosper.

When the energy supply is unstable, economic growth slows, business confidence falls and foreign investors become cautious. Most importantly, jobs are lost and unemployment increases.

This crisis therefore represents a fundamental threat to our economic well-being – yet by all accounts we should not have reached this dire position to begin with.
   
Without negating the historic underinvestment in energy capacity, we must acknowledge that as early as 1998, government was made aware of the impending crisis in the White Paper on Energy Policy.

Due to inaction on the part of both the ANC government and Eskom, this peaked in late 2007 when nationwide load shedding started to leave hard working South Africans sitting in the dark.

Sixteen years later the situation shows little sign of improvement. The energy crisis has become just another item on a long list of government failures that are preventing the good people of South African from realising their full potential.

Government must now take responsibility for this crisis and show strong leadership on the matter. They must act decisively to avert the escalation of this crisis through better planning and effective management.

The fact of the matter is that Eskom is simply not delivering, while those responsible are not being held to account.

The time has come to engage in a frank debate about the future of Eskom, a company that is severely under-capitalised and over-indebted.

The DA firmly believes that the only way to solve this crisis is with greater participation from the private sector, and the introduction of independent power producers.

Yesterday Eskom announced that its profits have plummeted with R4.7 billion compared to last year – a massive drop of 24%.

Honourable members, it does not make economic sense to prop up this aging giant with continued government bailouts.

It is clear that this monolithic organisation is too large for efficient management of the national grid. This necessitates the division of the company into separate entities that can be more responsive to customer demand.

The only way that we will be able to solve this crisis is by breaking the monopoly-stronghold that Eskom has over the energy sector, and introduce some much needed competition.

It is time that the ANC puts ideological sentiment aside and does what is best for South Africa.

The solution to the historic underinvestment in energy generation capacity does not lie in state sponsored mega projects such as the Rosatom nuclear deal. This will undoubtedly suffer from the same cost and time escalations that have been seen at Medupi and Kusile, and leave our people in the dark for years to come.

We would therefore like to appeal to the Minister of Energy, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, to take the following steps as a matter of urgency:
   
Firstly, finalise the Independent System and Market Operator Bill, or ISMO, that was committed to by President Zuma in 2010 and again this year, and table it before Parliament in the coming year.

Secondly, promulgate the long awaited Gas Utilisation Master Plan so that investments can be made to start building up our gas infrastructure. This will lead to energy generation units within the next few years and alleviate the strain on coal-fired plants.

Thirdly, prioritise the diversification of energy supply sources by upscaling of renewable energy programmes. These programmes represent an efficient and cost-effective solution that will take a great deal of strain off the grid in a relatively short timeframe.

Finally, review the Integrated Resource Plan of 2010 in order to capitalise on the huge global changes that have occurred in the energy sector over the past 4 years. South Africa should capitalise on technological advancements that allow for energy production at a lower price.

The energy sector is vital to our economy, but moreover it has the potential to provide jobs to tens of thousands of South Africans.

GDP growth is currently at 1.4% but with a stable energy supply it will easily reach 2.5%. This is vital to securing our economic future and safeguarding the livelihoods of millions of South Africans.

Honourable Members, we have not yet reached the point of no return but we are fast approaching it.

We need to take action now if we want to make sure that our children and our grandchildren do not face a future in the dark.

I thank you.