Icasa to probe impact of load shedding on communications industry

Cape Town – The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has established a council committee to determine the impact of the current state of load shedding on electronic communications.

The investigation comes after Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Thembi Nkadimeng, terminated the national state of disaster on the Impact of severe electricity supply constraints on April 3, 2023.

As a result, all Regulations and Directions issued pursuant to section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, were immediately repealed.

“Following the decision by the Minister of Cogta to terminate the national state of disaster, the authority has resolved to establish a council committee to lead the assessment of the effects of ongoing disruptions to electricity supply on the ICT sector,” Icasa’s acting chairperson, councillor Yolisa Kedama said.

According to Kedama, the committee was formed in response to a virtual consultation workshop that the authority conducted following the declaration of the national state of disaster, which identified several concerns from stakeholders.

“The committee will work closely with the affected stakeholders in the industry and identify potential regulatory interventions that fall within the authority’s purview,” Kedama said.

Kedama added that the authority believes that workable solutions can be identified through collaboration with relevant stakeholders to ease the impact of load shedding on the ICT sector, the economy and on the people of the country.

“Through the establishment of this committee, the authority looks forward to working with government, the sector and industry stakeholders to find practical solutions to mitigate the impact of load shedding on the ICT sector.

“Once the authority has finalised its internal consideration of the scope of its regulatory process in response to the electricity crisis, a communique or notice will be published on the authority's website,” Kedama added.

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