Meeting of minds on energy
Investors are willing to enter the potentially lucrative renewable energy sector and relieve the growing demand for electricity if government hastened to set the rules, a summit on power heard in Johannesburg yesterday.
Government has already indicated its acceptance to bring renewable energy sources into the grid for it to meet the country's power demands.
The Investec Power Summit held at its offices in Sandton featured power industry players including Eskom, investors, major users and government.
Michael Meeser, head of project and infrastructure finance at Investec, said investors were willing to put money into renewable energy projects.
"What's needed is to set up a legal framework in which these projects can be financed. If the rules are there, the investment opportunity will be there," Meeser said.
"Set the rules and don't change them, money will flow," he said.
Michael Rossouw, chairman of the Energy Intensive Users Group, urged government to simplify energy policies and open the market to investors and independent suppliers.
"We should be able to explain if we have an energy crisis. If we do, we must ask what are we doing about it?" he said.
Rossouw said his group had made several proposals to government to allow private companies to buy directly from independent power suppliers. He said they welcomed government's openness to new proposals on energy.
Thabang Audat, acting chief director on electricity policy in the Department of Energy said government was to establish the Independent System and Market Operator that will buy non-Eskom power.
"Private sellers will generate power and then sell it to a buyer.
"The minister will determine who that buyer will be," he said.
"There is still a legislative process which should take about two year."
A System Operations and Planning Division would be set up in Eskom to buy power from independent producers. When the legislation is complete, the unit would operate outside Eskom but accounting to government, he said.