Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele, says government is doing all it can to resolve energy challenges in the country.

The Minister was briefing media on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting this week.

“The commitment of this government is towards… zero emissions in 2050. So everything that we are doing now should always be in line with that. There’s a general principle that we are moving away from fossil fuels.

“This government will tirelessly [ensure] that we find the best possible offer in as far as energy requirements are concerned in the country... Everything will be handled by the relevant departments, which are Minerals and Energy and Finance to do everything possible based on the circumstances that we are confronted with. Government is actually spending sleepless nights on that,” he said.

Gungubele said Cabinet welcomed last week’s announcement by Eskom that the 800MW Kusile Power Station Unit 4 has been connected to the grid, and is expected to increase the power utility’s generation capacity.

“Our long-term energy security has been given a massive boost following the commercial handover of Unit 4 at the Kusile Power Station in Mpumalanga. This handover marks another milestone in Eskom’s efforts to stabilise the power system and will add 800 megawatts (MW) to the power grid,” he said.

The Minister said Cabinet has also welcomed the signing of three agreements between the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and Scatec ASA, which is expected to build at least three renewable energy projects in the Northern Cape.

The three agreements were signed under the department’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, which aims to plug the country’s energy deficit.

“Cabinet welcomed the addition of new generation capacity to the grid, which was made possible by the decision to allow independent power producers to produce electricity. Government recently signed an agreement to buy 150 MW of capacity from a renewable power producer, Scatec ASA,” Gungubele said.

Source: South African Government News Agency