Regional approach to energy crisis crucial

Southern African

governments are not

solving energy problems

for the next five years

but for the next 100 years

which is why decisions must

be well thought through and

regionally based, according to

Tina Joemat-Petterson, South

African minister of energy.

Whilst

admitting that

sub-Saharan

Africa was

facing an energy

crisis, Joemat-

Petterson

stressed it was

imperative that

planning did

not only focus

on the here and

now.

It is estimated

at least two out

of three people

in sub-Saharan

Africa are without access to

electricity. The lack of energy is

one of the biggest contributors

to the region not reaching its

full economic potential.

Local power utility Eskom

has been under immense

pressure to keep the lights on,

with government pulling out

all the stops to turn the crisis

around and bring an end to

loadshedding.

But energy experts say this is

just a small part of the problem

as countries across sub-Saharan

Africa are not able to meet their

energy demands. Vast rural

areas across the continent have

no access to energy and capacity

to address the situation just

does not exist.

Speaking at a gas meeting in

Cape Town recenty, Joemat-

Petterson said there was no

denying that solutions had to

be found to

address the

immediate

needs of

countries

such as South

Africa and

bring an end to

loadshedding,

but it was also

important to

bring electricity

to a huge

number of

people across

the continent

who had no

access to energy of any kind.

“Our challenge is to think

ahead of 2030. Energy is crucial

for this continent in the long

run and we need to plan far

ahead,” she said. “We realise

we cannot solve the energy

challenges alone. This is not just

about delivering energy to South

Africa, but rather to the bigger

region. It is therefore imperative

that we define the energy links

for southern Africa and work

together as a region to deliver

the solutions.”

She said the creation of a

southern African power pool was

ultimately the goal allowing the

Southern African Development

Community (SADC) to

sustainably deliver power to itself

in the long run.

In this regard renewable

energy would play an increasingly

important role in the region, she

said.

Solar and wind power was

already gaining momentum while

hydropower projects and gas

would further play a significant

role in the energy solution.

“We cannot just take a singular

approach and say first we are

going to get South Africa up and

running and then coordinate

with the rest of the region. A

regionally coordinated approach

is going to be required if we

want to successfully over the

long term address our energy

requirements.”

She said in regionalisation

they would be creating a win-win

situation for South Africa and its

neighbours.

“As a country South Africa

has an important role to play

in this approach, assisting our

neighbours in developing their

own resource facilities. Through

this approach we secure energy

for South Africa in the region,”

she said. “Generation capacity

has to be built in all the countries

around us.”

INSERT & CAPTION

We cannot just take a

singular approach and

say first we are going

to get South Africa up

and running and then

coordinate with the rest

of the region.

– Tina Joemat-Petterson

CAPTION

Wind and solar power are already gaining momentum.