R82m for power restructuring

Wed, 18 Jun 2008

A total of R82-million has been allocated to municipalities and Eskom in the Eastern Cape and parts of the Western Cape to restructure the power supply network, government agency EDI Holdings said on Tuesday.

The R82-million was part of the R1.2-billion given by the government to EDI over three years to establish six regional electricity distributors (Reds) countrywide, said spokesman Mbulelo Musi in a statement.

The money would be spent on preparatory work to establish the Reds, including assessing service providers, consulting communities and isolating electricity distribution from other municipal services.

EDI Holdings was mandated by the government in October 2006 to ensure that Eskom and the distributing municipalities transfer their distribution business to the Reds. These would become the main distributors of electricity to South Africans. The Reds would be based in six South African metros and operate as independent businesses.

It was hoped that Reds would make electricity distribution financially and administratively more efficient, ensure equal and better service, better billing systems and create competition.