A new Energy Security Bill intended to ‘streamline the regulatory framework and accelerate the construction of renewable energy projects’ is in the works, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced.
He told Parliament that once the draft law had been completed it would have to be processed ‘in record time’.
Ramaphosa told MPs: ‘We will soon introduce another key piece of legislation, the Energy Security Bill, to streamline the regulatory framework and accelerate the construction of renewable energy projects. I call on the members of this House, from all political parties, to pass this critical legislation in record time while adhering to required parliamentary processes. We need to do so in months, not years.’
While the Bill is not yet available, it is reported that it seeks to criminalise electricity theft, to give Eskom expropriation powers and to establish an appeals tribunal. The latter could be used to appeal against environmental decisions.
The National Treasury and the National Energy Crisis Committee support these measures. It remains to be seen how they will be received by other stakeholders.