The announcement by the Minister of Energy, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, of plans to develop a gas policy will “guide the country towards a sustainable natural gas economy”, according to the Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe.
“The introduction of gas as an additional source of power in South Africa’s energy mix will lessen dependence on coal and ensure sufficient, diverse and secure energy availability to citizens and the economy, now and into the future.
“This will also increase the country’s ambitions of realising a re-industrialised economy, a higher and inclusive growth path and job creation,” he said, briefing media on the Cabinet meeting held earlier this week.
Radebe pointed out that in the interim, the Department of Energy was undertaking a gas-to-power programme – which would deliver 3 726MW of electricity – to serve as a catalyst for the development of a local gas industry.
“We believe this will encourage upstream exploration in an investor-friendly enabling environment,” he commented, adding that in the shorter term, the gas-to-power programme would help to buffer economic output decreases and prevent job losses.
