Tracey Davies’s column "There’s Good Reason to be Suspicious of Mantashe’s Latest Brainchild" (On My Mind, November 11-17) refers.
The Energy Council of SA was recently launched as a body intended to be representative of the SA energy sector. There’s no question that the country’s energy sector must be overhauled and transformed so we can support a just energy transition, strengthen energy security and advance inclusive economic growth.
The energy landscape is vast and complex. It comprises large energy producers, suppliers and, increasingly, smaller, emerging players that supply this economy with energy. It is characterised by significant interdependencies between all sectors, especially our minerals and industrial complex, which forms the base of energy demand. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are dependent on this ecosystem and value chain.
We must sustain employment and invest in the sector so we can grow the job opportunities needed for a sustainable energy future, underscored by the pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to combat climate change.
Against this backdrop, SA requires a policy environment for energy that will enable producers — existing and emerging — to transform where necessary, and rapidly expand installed capacity to sustain and grow much-needed economic activity.
These are material matters that require robust multistakeholder engagement, underpinned by accountability and transparency, to ensure we collectively develop a sustainable energy sector that enables a growing economy.
The council’s formation and its ensuing work is premised on collaboration and co-creation. The founding, and future, members of the council reflect the diversity of the energy sector, but we are driven by our purpose to be the unified voice of energy in SA.
Renewable energy players are and will continue to be key for the sector. With the founding member companies on board, we look forward to welcoming new members across the energy spectrum as we progress towards developing the enabling infrastructure to effectively run the council.
Fleetwood Grobler
Chair, Energy Council of SA
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