As government confirms Section 34 determinations are finalised and awaiting NERSA approval, GOOD asks for rights of local government to also be enabled.
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Statement from Mark Rountree, National Policy Officer for GOOD
20 February 2019
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GOOD welcomes yesterday’s confirmation from Minister of Minerals and Energy, Minister Mantashe, that the section 34 Determinations needed to implement the 2019 IRP have been finalised and are awaiting concurrence from NERSA, but wants to ensure these determinations will apply to local governments.
On the 11th December 2018, GOOD issued a call for South Africa to lower its carbon emissions, including for the Section 34 Determinations to permit the procurement of renewable electricity directly from independent power producers.
Section 34 Determinations, if enacted fast, will help accelerate South Africa’s carbon emissions reductions, but Minister Mantashe’s commitment must apply to local government if we are to rapidly stabilise our energy supply and meet our carbon emissions commitments.
The fight for Section 34 Determinations for local municipalities dates back to 2016, when GOOD’s leader Patricia de Lille requested multiple times for the then-Minister of Energy, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, to allow local government to procure electricity directly from independent power producers.
De Lille went to court to fight for the right of towns and cities to be able to buy their electricity independently from Eskom. At the time, De Lille said that she would “not sit back passively waiting to be crippled by Eskom’s decision especially amid rapidly escalating electricity prices“.
The right for local governments to choose to procure renewable energy directly remains the policy position of GOOD. In our October 2019 submission on the draft IRP, GOOD again requested the Minister to allow Section 34 determinations to permit capacitated municipalities to procure renewable power directly from independent power producers.
Renewable energy is better for the planet and our energy security. It is also cheaper – solar and wind electricity is far cheaper than new coal-generated power.
South Africa is in the midst of an energy crisis and the world in the midst of a climate emergency. Action and speed is needed now.
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Mark Rountree 082 880 4393