100MW generation threshold a big leap forward for energy resilience in the Western Cape

We welcome the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa today (10 June 2021) that Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act will be amended to increase the licensing threshold for embedded generation projects from 1 MW to 100 MW.

With load shedding costing South Africa’s economy R500 million per stage, per day, and the Western Cape’s economy R75 million per stage, per day, over the last two weeks load shedding has cost the South African economy approximately R25 billion, and the Western Cape approximately R3.85 billion.

We now need to urgently finalise Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act and clarify which categories of projects are covered by the relaxation and ensure that the permitting and registration requirements do not become another regulatory spiderweb causing unnecessary delays in the delivery of additional energy supply in South Africa.

We remain in an energy crisis and large-scale private sector participation in energy generation, in partnership with government, will be key to addressing the current shortfall in the Western Cape. And so, this is a positive move that will give much-needed certainty to investors and increase access to affordable, renewable energy in South Africa.

Source: Government of South Africa