The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Ebrahim Patel, this morning launched the Energy One-Stop Shop (EOSS) and the Energy Resilience Fund to mitigate the impact of the energy crisis.
The Energy One Stop Shop is a new facility that government has put in place to help with fast-tracking energy projects as part of government wider effort to refocus resources and increase the supply of energy available to the grid, mainly through additional renewable energy. The Energy One Stop Shop was developed to address a key constraint that energy developers face: namely that the many regulatory and other measures that need to be complied with, can and do slow down approval of energy supply projects.
Minister Patel expressed his optimism about the impact of these initiatives, stating,
“The Energy One Stop Shop and Energy Resilience Fund are critical steps towards alleviating the challenges faced by our industries during this energy crisis. We are committed to fostering a resilient business environment and accelerating private-sector investment in electricity generation to secure a stable energy future.”
“While the Presidency is exploring ways to simplify these processes we have seen that having a dedicated resource available to the private sector, to address blockages, has worked in other parts of the economy.”
Minister Patel advised the energy producing sector that the facility is available and is being rolled out in four phases. The first phase, which is now completed, is a facility with dedicated personnel, a website, a registration portal for energy projects and a mapped process showing where a project is in the approval processes.
The EOSS will also have teams of staff working with developers to unblock or fast-track applications for approvals. In phase two, the project will be scoping provincial and municipal processes and building capacity at these two spheres. In phase three, a single, electronic application process will be put in place, with greater automated feedback. In phase four, the full project will be in place, covering both immediate blockages and looking at a wider reform programme.
In addition, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), National Empowerment Fund and the dtic have set aside resources to assist companies with energy related challenges. To date, the department and entities have approved projects worth R294 million. The companies concerned are in sectors such as food and beverages, metal fabrication, rubber and plastics and accommodation services. the dtic-group is also considering rooftop solar projects.
The IDC has and continues to be a fund partner in a number of large energy production projects, including wind farms and concentrated solar power projects. The ACWA Redstone project in Postmasburg in the Northern Cape is a 100MW project, with up to 12 hour energy storage capacity. One project involves a biomass boiler.
“It is worth noting that we have also put in place several other instruments to support the energy transition – from new standards on light-bulbs issued in May this year, to exemptions granted to companies to collaborate on both the supply of energy and on demand-measures,” Minister Patel said.
He encouraged energy developments to participate,
“Energy developers are invited to use the facility and provide feedback to the Energy One Stop Shop team on both technology and human resources, so we can improve the facility. We do so to enable more energy to be available to the grid, so that we can provide power to homes, factories, mines, offices and indeed all the economic hubs that create jobs.”
Energy applications can now be lodged online at: Email: info@energyoss.gov.za web www.energyoss.gov.za
For Enquiries:
Bongani Lukhele – Director: Media Relations
Tel: (012) 394 1643 / Mobile: 079 5083 457
WhatsApp: 074 299 8512
E-mail: BLukhele@thedtic.gov.za or Mediarelations@thedtic.gov.za
Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
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