Plans afoot to expand SA's power grid

with the National Transmission company South Africa having named the contractors that will help accelerate infrastructure rollout the National Grid operator says it has signed long-term agreements with 19 companies to help expand the power grid that's because the electricity Market in South Africa is allowing New Power Generation companies onto the grid for more on this now I'm joined in Studio by the National Transmission company South Africa's board chairperson Priscilla maalan Priscilla thank you so much for coming in this morning giving up your Saturday morning we really do appreciate your time and what a busy um uh and telling week it's been for you now there've been various unintended consequences as a result of South Africa's um electricity crisis going on for almost two decades now 16 years or so is when the blackouts really started we've seen solar energy take off in waves across the business sector and many suburbs and we've seen the launch of this National Transmission company just for our viewers explain again what brought on the launch of this company and what your main aims are thank you again for the opportunities and good morning to your viewers happy women's month than quite exciting and just on that note just to recognize the many women in in escom and at the same time I had an opportunity this week to engage with a few of them and was really humbled to see that a number of the women at the power stations that are actually leading the transformation of generation and the Young Dynamic and most of those are the power station managers so I just want to congratulate them as well maybe that's why we haven't had blackouts for so long there are icons and it's quite important that we celebrate this hidden figures all the time so um thanks again for this opportunity as a national transission company of South Africa which is a company that has been formed um by the escom Holdings uh together with the main shareholder the government