While Eskom is struggling to keep the lights on and all electricity stakeholders are familiar with the challenges around coal supplies, schedule delays at Medupi and Kusile, and unprecedented levels of breakdowns on Eskom's ageing fleet, there is a debate getting lost in the noise on where the industry is supposed to be heading.

In this debate there are divergent views, from the Department of Energy (DoE) taking the independent system and market operator (ISMO) bill through the parliamentary process (but apparently not making much progress), to Eskom cautioning that the carving out of the system operator will present new risks of its own, to NGOs such as the Free Market Foundation pushing for liberalisation into a competitive generation industry. Then there is also a group of potential power suppliers lobbying for a "willing buyer, willing seller" dispensation where bilateral agreements between generators and loads should somehow be accommodated in the regulatory regime.

It is time for a robust debate on the future structure of the South African Electricity Supply Industry (ESI). In this debate the short-term operational and tactical interventions required to keep the lights on must be separated from the structural changes required to put us on the right track for the longer-term.

So what then are the immediate next steps to get us back in business and on the right track for the longer term?  Here are a few thoughts from an energy intensive user and co-generator... (more)