The country’s energy action plan continues to be implemented in earnest, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said in a statement yesterday.
He said work was underway to improve the performance of power stations to reduce load shedding and government was driving work to bring more capacity onto the grid as quickly as possible.
“Progress has been made in several areas since the adoption of the Energy Action Plan. Some of the successes thus far include: relaxation of some requirements that will enable quicker procurement and the removal of licensing requirements for generation projects to enable private investment,” he said.
As part of rebuilding technical capacity in Eskom, 18 skilled specialists had been brought back into the utility, including three former power station managers.
Collaborative efforts with external stakeholders were underway.
“Additional focus is being placed on prioritising maintenance at the top six stations – Duvha, Kendal, Kusile, Majuba, Matla and Tutuka. These stations were selected as they are among the highest contributors to unplanned load losses,” he said.
There was also a process underway to establish a one-stop shop, which would be a single entry point for energy projects through InvestSA.
“A business case has been developed outlining resource and operational requirements. Time frames have been significantly reduced for regulatory approvals in land-use authorisation, the registration process and embedded generation projects,” he said in the statement.
In the last six months, agreements had been signed with independent power producers for 26 projects. Work would soon be completed on a pricing structure for generating capacity of solar panels on roofs of houses and businesses.
BUSINESS REPORT