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3 - When the Quest for Electricity Reform and the Need for Investment Collide: South Africa, 1998–2004

from Part I - Mitigating Institutional Voids by Design

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2019

Nuno Gil
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
Anne Stafford
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
Innocent Musonda
Affiliation:
University of Johannesburg
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Summary

In 1998 South Africa signalled its intent to pursue a far-reaching agenda of electricity-sector reform. This chapter explores the political challenges of moving from vision to action – with a focus on decision-making vis-à-vis reforming  the market structure for electricity generation, and setting prices for purchases from electricity generation providers. Whilst on the surface the reforms were supported by government, beneath that surface were many unresolved conflicts amongst stakeholders. The result was six years of reform churning – at a time when forward progress with investment in new electricity generation capacity was required. The analysis offers a cautionary tale as to the unintended consequences of embracing far-reaching policy reform proposals without any clarity as to how they might be implemented.

Type
Chapter
Information
Duality by Design
The Global Race to Build Africa's Infrastructure
, pp. 69 - 96
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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