SA Government Announces Additional Procurement of 18000 MW Renewables

• The South African Government has announced a series of interventions aimed at solving the country’s worsening power crisis and easing the ongoing load shedding.
• South Africa is in a spiralling energy crisis, rotational load shedding is getting worse and the cost to the economy is a massive R950 million a day.
• Through the Presidency, the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) today released a six-month update on progress in the implementation of the Energy Action Plan.
• NECOM is a body run by the President’s Office established to coordinate government’s response and ensure swift implementation of the plan.
• Among the many chages, Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act has been amended to remove the licensing requirement for generation projects of any size to enable private investment at a much larger scale and a new ministerial determination has been published for over 18 000 MW of new generation capacity from wind, solar and battery storage. 

Other initiatives include Eskom’s programme to buy power from companies with available generation capacity through a standard offer. “The first contracts are expected to be signed in the coming weeks,” the Presidency said in a statement.

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Another intervention contained in the document will see government departments cutting red tape and streamlining regulatory processes for energy projects. This will include reducing the timeframe for environmental authorisations and registration, while negotiations are underway to secure a potential 1 000 MW from neighbouring countries starting this year.

“The declining energy availability factor of Eskom’s fleet reflects the cumulative impact of historical underinvestment in maintenance and assets, exacerbated by flaws in the design of new power stations in the last decade,” the NECOM said.

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To respond to the severe impact of load shedding on households, small businesses and the economy as a whole, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced measures in 2022 to improve the performance of existing power stations and add new generation capacity.

President Ramaphosa convened a special meeting over load shedding as Eskom implemented extended Stage 6 load shedding. He cancelled his travel plans to Davos, Switzerland, in order to deal with the crisis.

According to the Presidency, the Head of State has also engaged with a wide range of stakeholders and leaders to ensure a collective response to this national challenge.

President Ramaphosa said: “South Africans are right to demand immediate action to address the devastating impact of load shedding on our lives and the economy. The Energy Action Plan provides a clear way out of this crisis. We do not need any new plans – we are focusing on implementing this plan fully and effectively to achieve energy security for all South Africans.”

The President has further instructed law enforcement agencies to ramp up efforts to protect electricity infrastructure, while government has committed to deal with criminal syndicates and address theft and sabotage at several power stations.

The Presidency said addressing the ongoing shortfall in electricity remains government’s single most important priority.

Link to the full update: Update on Energy Action Plan – January 2023

Author: Bryan Groenendaal

Source: SAnews.gov.za