National Assembly: 19 September 2006  

Madame Speaker,

The reasons surrounding the power shortages that caused so much disruption to the lives of the people in the Western Cape have created heated debate and much speculation. We have heard many theories including one about sabotage but the only actual evidence that we were presented with, before the report of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, was that of the bolt which caused the damage to the generator at Koeberg. All this speculation is understandable though, considering the role that electricity plays in our everyday lives and the fact that we do not want to experience a repeat of this unfortunate incident.

We, in the IFP, do however believe that a lack of timely communication by the relevant authorities about the power shortages as well as certain members of government making unsubstantiated claims have contributed to people speculating unnecessarily about this situation and inventing their own theories about how and why the blackouts were caused.

The real reasons for the power shortages were made known in a report by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) who conducted an investigation into this serious matter.

It was reported that the former Minister of Minerals and Energy, Ms Lindiwe Hendricks, stated that the power shortages could not just be linked to inadequate transmission or generation capacity; and that they had curiously coincided with an important process in the democratic calendar.

To the best of my knowledge this was the extent of the Honourable Minister's comments about this matter on the 28th of February 2006. Although the Minister might have made some veiled suggestions, we do not believe that they were intended to mislead the public.

The most important issue for us is to ensure that we do not have a repeat of this whole debacle and that the report of NERSA is taken into consideration so that we can correct the problems that led to the blackouts and ensure that a similar situation does not develop again in the future.

I thank you.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr Eric Lucas MP: 082 557 2481
Noleen Hendricks: 082 886 9848