SOUTH AFRICA
Powering ahead with growth in energy services market By Koketso Mamabolo
South Africa is edging ever closer to diversifying its energy supply, making more room for competition in the energy sector. With the global energy services market projected to reach USD 86.9-billion by 2024, and the
ENERGY SECTOR OVERVIEW
local market projected to climb to R135-billion by 2035,
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the outlook for independent power producers is looking positive. “All of our efforts over the past 13 years have been to fix Eskom, instead of addressing security of supply by adding additional capacity to the grid,” said Finance Minister Enoch Gondongwana at the beginning of his Medium-Term Budget Statement in November. “We have already made significant progress in correcting this: the amendment of Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act of 2006, has raised the licensing threshold from 1 to 100 megawatts. It has also made it possible for private power generators to sell directly to customers. This will alleviate the risk of power cuts.” “The amended regulations will further enable municipalities to self-generate or procure power directly from independent power producers. We have also begun to reduce our reliance on Eskom by diversifying our primary energy sources. The gains from this diversification are demonstrated by the outcome of the most recent round of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer (REIPP) programme.” “Over the longer term, creating a competitive energy market will help contain the costs of generating electricity and support GDP growth.”
IMPUMELELO TOP EMPOWERMENT
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