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The Government of Western Capetown calls for embedded generation
- Seeks an alternative to addressing power shortages
- Calls for an increase in allowed generation for embedded power plants
The Government of Western Cape has called on the Federal Government to increase the capacity threshold for embedded generation plants. David Maynier, Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities called for the amendment of Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act to increase embedded generation capacity. Maynier noted that an amendment to the Act would allow for resolving power shortages currently being experienced in the country.
“Increasing the licensing threshold for embedded generation to 50MW or higher and simplifying and finalising the registration process would provide certainty to investors and increase access to affordable renewable energy in South Africa”, Maynier said. He urged the Minister for Energy, Gwedebe Mantashe, to review the proposal on the amendments. “We urge Minister Mantashe to implement our proposed changes, increase the limit to at least 50MW and decrease red tape within that threshold. If done correctly, this will unlock huge latent potential in the renewable energy sector”, said Maynier.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Minerals Council had earlier called for the removal of capacity limitations to encourage investments. He argued that the removal would improve private sector participation in the industry.