South Africa has registered approximately 6.3 GW of new generation capacity since the removal of its licensing threshold for embedded power generation last September, according to a recent statement from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) registered 1,312 generation facilities since the policy change, with “a third of this capacity supplying the mining load,” the President stated.
The policy reform was implemented to encourage private investment in South Africa’s power sector, with the development of new generation facilities intended to support the growth of key economic sectors, such as mining.
President Ramaphosa explained that in addition to improving the performance of the existing generation fleet and adding new capacity, the government is implementing a series of measures to strengthen mineral extraction activities in the country. These include identifying and accelerating economic reforms, tackling illegal mining and mitigating damage to infrastructure.
