He said the utility negotiates with landowners on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis
Image: Supplied/GCIS
Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says land for South Africa’s planned 14,000km power line network is not being taken without compensation.
In a written reply to Parliament, Ramokgopa said the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) has already secured about 55% of the servitudes needed for the project.
"The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) has an established programme to negotiate the servitudes required for constructing the approximately 14,000km of high-voltage transmission lines, as required by the Transmission Development Plan (TOP). As these lines will be built over time and in phases, the acquisition of servitudes is also being undertaken in phases," Ramokgopa said.
He said the utility negotiates with landowners on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis, while a small number of servitudes were expropriated and compensated.
"The NTCSA has successfully completed the acquisition of servitudes for about 55% of what is required in the TOP. The NTCSA negotiates and acquires servitudes on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis. Only a small number of servitudes were expropriated and duly compensated. No servitudes have been acquired without compensation," Ramokgopa added.
Last year, IOL reported that Ramokgopa announced a plan to address the country’s ongoing energy crisis through private sector involvement in transmission infrastructure development.
Ramokgopa explained that the existing transmission network was unable to keep up with the country's growing renewable energy generation, particularly in areas such as the Northern and Western Cape.
“We want to create a dispensation where we are going to accommodate the investments by private sector players on the transmission side,” Ramokgopa said.
Ramokgopa further explained that Eskom and the government’s budgets were not in a position to support the level of investment needed to expand the transmission network, adding that a total of R440 billion was needed to modernise and expand the transmission network by about 14,000km.
"The Eskom balance sheet, the sovereign balance sheet is not sufficient to carry the kind of investments that are required in this space," Ramokgopa said.
To address this, Ramokgopa announced the launch of a pilot project under the Independent Transmission Providers (ITPs) program. This initiative will allow the private sector to finance and construct new transmission lines.
mthobisi.nozulela@iol.co.za
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