'Break Eskom's monopoly'

Its main points involve increasing the flow of funds to drive Eskom's capital expansion, and for the funding of South Africa's renewable energy projects.

The plan was carried by the DA's leader, Helen Zille the mayor of Cape Town, to her meeting to discus the electricity crisis with president Thabo Mbeki later on Monday.

The DA plan calls for the installation of at least two million solar water heaters within metropolitan areas by the end of 2011, and it urges the metro councils to pass by-laws including a requirement for all new buildings or additions to have solar heating installed.

Gareth Morgan, who speaks for the party on environmental affairs, said that the cost - about R12 000 for an average family of four - would be prohibitive, so ways of providing them without cost to the consumer should be found.

One way, he suggested, would be for the government to combine the solar heater subsidy proposed last week with economies of scale and carbon funding under the Kyoto treaty.

An implementing agency would have to take control of the programme, and would install them for free, and charge a rent for them for six to eight years, after which the ownership would revert to the householder.

The rent would be less than the estimated 20% to 30% saving the solar heaters would make on household electricity bills.

Government blamed

The party also calls for an expansion of the Klipheuvel wind power programme to other parts of the country. Morgan urged the government to produce a wind-power atlas by the end of this year, which would show which areas have sufficiently strong and reliable wind speeds.

The government was blamed for failing to provide adequate funds for Eskom's expansion. It needs to commit itself to using some of the budget surplus to make Eskom's plans viable. The party also called on the government to stand as guarantor for the bonds that Eskom would issue to finance its expansion.

Hendrik Schmidt, who speaks on minerals and energy, said that Eskom's monopoly as purchaser of all electricity generated in South Africa should be broken.

The aim would be to allow small and independent power producers to generate and sell electricity to any other companies or individuals looking to buy it.

"The Democratic Alliance will during the forthcoming parliamentary session pursue all available policy and legislative avenues to ensure that Eskom's monopoly is done away with," Schmidt said.

He also called on Eskom and councils to crack down on illegal electricity connections and non-payment of electricity accounts.

"Policing and penalties for non-payment and illegal connections must be stepped up," the party statement on their proposals said, "and the department of provincial and local government needs to negotiate targets for such reductions with councils."

On energy efficiency, the party called for a standardisation of electronic and electrical appliances so that their electricity use when in stand-by mode is limited to one watt, and for 15 million compact fluorescent lights to be distributed by the end of this year.