- 4th Sep 2023
- Posted by: Gil Harper
- Category: Uncategorised
Second Synergy for Energy Seminar hosted by Vuthela to build on the emerging learnings and assess the district’s key developmental priorities.
The Vuthela iLembe LED Support Programme will host the second Synergy for Energy seminar next month to explore ways of securing energy supplies in the coastal areas of the iLembe district.
This follows several developments in the rapidly changing local and national regulatory environment.
The KwaDukuza Local Municipality has approved and adopted an Energy Policy, and regulations are being drafted to manage the implementation of alternative energy sources in addition to the Eskom supply.
The long-awaited Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill 2023, which seeks to create a competitive multi-market electricity industry, has been formally introduced into parliament – five months after its adoption by cabinet.
Diverse ways of buying and selling
The Bill is expected to diversify ways of buying and selling electricity by introducing competition to decrease electricity costs. It will enable market participants to trade with each other, registered generators to enter into power purchase agreements (PPAs) directly with customers, and generators to form PPAs with transmission network operators.
It has also been announced that the South African Renewable Energy Masterplan (SAREM) is expected to be finalised by November this year, and implementation will begin immediately afterwards.
Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) senior economist Gaylor Montmasson-Claire, the facilitator of SAREM, announced this in late August during a webinar on unpacking the plan.
These developments will require stakeholders to review their strategies and development plans for alternative energy supplies, which means that a high level of collaboration between the private and public sector is needed.
Effective partnerships
The need for effective partnerships to resolve the electricity crisis was a recurring theme at the first Synergy for Energy seminar and will be a central theme of the second seminar.
The second seminar will also follow up on several other issues raised at the first session, which will determine how electricity is generated, distributed, and consumed within the district in the future.
Presenters will include experts in the field of energy, municipal officials from other municipalities that have implemented alternative energy sources, representatives of provincial and national government, and private sector operators.
The second Synergy for Energy seminar will build on the emerging learnings and assess the likely challenges, implications and the road map going forward following the adoption of the Energy Policy and national regulatory developments. It will focus on securing the social, economic, environmental and technical sustainability of energy in the KwaDukuza Local Municipality.
The seminar will aim to consolidate stakeholders’ understanding of the changing regulatory environment, developments underway in other municipalities, and examples of emerging best practice in other South African municipalities.
It will also consider issues related to ways of addressing the anticipated reduction in municipal revenue following extensive uptake of renewable energy options, tariff regimes and whether renewable energy can provide enough energy for the base load.
The seminar will assist stakeholders in the private and public sector to navigate through the changing regulatory landscape as they bring policy and practice together to build a reliable supply of electricity for growth of district.