The South African government has terminated the national state of disaster on electricity with immediate effect, according to a confirmation made on Wednesday.
This state of disaster was introduced in February this year as a response to the country’s ongoing energy crisis, with the government implementing a range of regulations to reduce the impact of load shedding.
The decision to withdraw the state of disaster came after a legal challenge was launched by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), which raised concerns over its rationale.
Outa argued that the state of disaster was unnecessary and that the government had failed to show how it would address the energy crisis.
The termination of the state of disaster means that the government will no longer be able to use the powers granted under the Disaster Management Act to mitigate the impact of load shedding.