REACTIVE
Johannesburg, 16 October 2020 — This morning, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) Minister Gwede Mantashe gazetted amendments to the Electricity Regulations on New Generation Capacity. These will allow municipalities to pursue their own power generation projects. In response, Greenpeace Africa’s Senior Climate and Energy Campaign Manager Happy Khambule has said:
“It’s about time that a decision like this is made, which will lead to decentralisation and better penetration of renewable energy. But, it is between local and national government, and it doesn’t address the key issue: ordinary South Africans are still unable to meaningfully participate in energy democracy as prosumers. The government is still not prioritising this.
“It is key that the power generation projects undertaken by municipalities are focused entirely on renewable energy. To make a decision like this and allow for new investments in fossil fuels will be another foolish waste on the government’s part as the climate crisis looms in the background and South Africans are still subject to breathing toxic air.”
ENDS
Contact details
Chris Vlavianos, Greenpeace Africa Communications Officer, +27798837036, [email protected]
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