SA civil groups urge Mantashe to immediately procure renewable power

SA mines minister, Gwede Mantashe. Photo: Getty Images

CIVIL groups organisations in South Africa have urged mines and energy minister, Gwede Mantashe to pave the way for the procurement of renewable energy projects that will help drag the country out of its energy crisis.

The government-owned power utility, Eskom is currently implementing rotational power rationing of up to 5,000MW following breakdowns and an illegal strike over wages. Eskom employees are returning to work but a maintenance backlog has developed.

In an open letter environmental groups such as 350Africa.org, Fossil Free South Africa as well as the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), and the Green Connection have asked Mantashe to “immediately issue determinations” for 13,600MW in renewable energy and a further 1,575MW in storage capacity.

News24 said in a report that the groups had given Mantashe 10 days to issue the determination. Failing this, the groups will approach President Cyril Ramaphosa to instruct the minister to do so.

In the letter, the groups highlight that the electricity crisis and load shedding causes “human suffering” and costs the South African economy “billions”, said News24.

They also note that the minister is empowered to issue determinations allowing for large-scale new electricity generation capacity – over 100MW – to be built. Citing the Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) of 2019, they indicate that as much as 20,400 MW of renewable energy generation capacity is to be built by 2030, along with 2,088 MW of storage capacity.

While the minister in September 2020 issued determinations for 6,800 MW of renewable energy to be procured, determinations for the remaining 13,600 MW still need to be issued. Similarly, determinations of 513 MW of storage had been issued, and 1,575 MW remains.

The organisations note that in cases of urgency related to energy security – the issuance of determinations does not need to follow a timeline set out in the IRP. They, therefore, urge Mantashe to act urgently.