Department of Mineral Resources and Energy gazettes the Amended Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act 4 of 2006
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy gazetted the Amended Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act 4 of 2006 on 12 August 2021, for 100 Megawatts of embedded electricity generation as approved by Minister Gwede Mantashe.
The amendment follows President Ramaphosa’s announcement on June 10, 2021 that the Schedule 2 Amendment of the ERA would be published within 60 days. The Amendment serves to increase the threshold for embedded generation from the current 1Megawatt (MW) to 100 MW without the need for a license. The intervention to reform the electricity regulation regime has been hailed as a positive way forward by the energy sector and industry across the board. It is envisaged that this step will unlock significant investment in new generation capacity in the short-to-medium term, and make significant inroads towards achieving national energy security, as well as reduce the impact of load shedding across the country.
Under the newly gazetted Amended Schedule 2 of the ERA, applicants for 1 – 100MW embedded electricity generation projects will now be exempt from the obligation to apply for a Licence but, will be required to Register with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA.)
Source: Government of South Africa