Power crisis: 2010 safe

Speaking after a two-day government lekgotla that prioritised Eskom's current inability to meet electricity supply, thanks to the government's self-confessed tardiness to make the right plans at the right time to meet increased demand placed on the national grid by a growing economy, Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin gave all the right 2010 World Cup assurances on behalf of the host government.

Referring to the short-, medium- and long-term plans to reduce demand as well as increase supply capacity, Erwin said: "In this manner we plan to provide more room to manoeuvre both in this short term period and in the important year of 2010.

"I need to stress that the Cabinet was fully briefed on the electricity situation as it specifically relates to the World Cup and on general progress with the preparations for infrastructure for 2010. There is no threat to the successful holding of the event as plans to ensure electricity security in that period are well advanced."

While it is a Fifa requirement that all stadiums have generators and that all areas of the country that are critical to the Soccer World Cup have secure electricity supplies, Erwin stressed that when it came to restaurants, hotels and other facilities, no country in the world could guarantee that the "lights would never go out".

But, he's confident that the power conservation programme coupled to plans to speed up the large 2004 build programme for electricity supply, would have given the national electricity grid a "more comfy" margin to play with.

"We are viewing the next two years as being critical," he said.

- Fin24