Decisions in the energy sector have particular importance, given the sector\u2019s central role in powering growth and recovery, it said.<\/p>\n
“The pandemic has served as the final straw to plunge the country into its largest economic downturn in living history: unemployment levels are at their highest on record, investment ratings have plummeted and many in the emerging middle class have slid back into greater levels of poverty.<\/p>\n
“Meanwhile, the precarious state of state-owned entities, in particular Eskom, remain a large burden on the increasingly constrained national fiscus.<\/p>\n
“An ailing coal fleet and chronic power cuts continue to cripple economic growth prospects at a time that South Africa needs it most.”<\/p>\n
The group proposed five key changes for the country’s energy sector which will help it get back on track.<\/p>\n
\n
Unlock market barriers to distributed generation projects<\/strong><\/p>\n The group said that there is more than 5,000MW of additional generation capacity that could be unlocked through small amendments to the current power sector regulatory framework.<\/p>\n This includes lifting the current generation licence exemption threshold for grid-connected projects and allowing generation projects to sell power to multiple customers – instead of a single, \u2018end-use\u2019 customer.<\/p>\n “These reforms will not compromise grid stability, as each project will still need to adhere to the relevant grid codes and technical requirements as enforced by the grid operator.<\/p>\n “In the short-term, this additional generation capacity will go a long way to addressing South Africa\u2019s current, pressing energy supply shortage and grow investor confidence in South Africa\u2019s energy sector.”<\/p>\n Raise ambition for the power sector<\/strong><\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s power sector presents a large, low-cost opportunity to reduce emissions and set the South African economy on track to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century.<\/p>\n “A decarbonised power sector will be critical to enabling other hard-to-abate sectors to achieve the emissions reductions required,” Meridian economics said.<\/p>\n “This will require a substantially accelerated rollout of renewable energy, storage and other grid support technologies, and the phase-down of coal power.”<\/p>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/500-days.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n