South Africa's energy sector is undergoing an unprecedented period of change. Following the Electricity Regulation Act 2nd Amendment Bill proposed this February, in July, President Ramaphosa announced a wave of measures to immensely increase South Africa's generation capacity.

The proposed regulatory steps are contributing to what is an already shifting energy sector which promises increased growth, competition, and most importantly, reliability of supply.

Although there are many facets which must be thoroughly discussed to ensure the most effective introduction of that changes, huge opportunities are already available for local communities in terms of skills improvement and entrepreneurship.

Therefore, CSIR – Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – and RES4Africa Foundation will be hosting a joint event “Evolving electricity landscape – opportunities for investments” as an open platform for discussion and networking.

The seminar will take place on the 17th of November 9:00-16:00 at at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria, South Africa.

The morning session will open with the launch of the Energy Industry Support Programme (EISP). The EISP is a 5-year programme of the CSIR that is envisaged to support SMMEs who want to participate (or are already participating) in the energy sector as well as fill the skills gaps in the labour market for the emerging energy industry. The programme aims to encourage innovation and to help empower innovators and labour force with the skills required to contribute to the economic development through the energy sector. Furthermore, the programme aims to encourage innovation amongst the industry, by providing the technical expertise that can aid the development of technological ambitions of the industry.

In addition, the programme aims to encourage the use of developed intellectual property (IP), through commercialization of identified technologies that are relevant and where the demand exists.

Opportunities for synergies among SMMEs and big players of the renewable energy sector will then be explored. Discussions will follow to deep dive into the space for communities’ growth and development, and the potential for job creation, through supporting a Just Energy Transition of South Africa.

The afternoon session will close the day by summarizing the main changes and new opportunities arising for market operators and other actors.