Fairer and Cleaner Energy in South Africa

Decisions about how to generate, deliver and pay for electricity have a profound effect on people’s lives. WRI’s Electricity Governance Initiative (EGI) promotes transparent, inclusive and accountable decision-making in the electricity sector, with the goal of helping countries can develop more equitable and sustainable electricity policies. The partnership works in India, Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, and the Philippines, five countries with rapidly growing emissions from power generation. Since 2005, we have worked with civil society organizations to complete national assessments of electricity governance and advocate for improvements. More than thirty organizations around the world are partners in the Initiative.

In 2010 EGI helped influence South Africa’s electricity plan for 2010-2030 which includes a 50 percent increase in the share of renewable energy and greater focus on energy efficiency.
This breakthrough resulted from the opening up South Africa’s national electricity planning process, in which EGI played a key role.

Civil society organizations were invited to participate in a new open and consultative process to develop the Integrated Resource Plan for 2010-2030. EGI partners in South Africa produced and shared relevant and timely analyses of the draft plan, held public workshops with government officials, parliamentarians, and civil society groups, and drew media attention to key components of the plan. The result was the government’s heightened focus on the clean energy options of renewables and efficiency. In addition, the South African Department of Energy committed to develop a research agenda to address issues that arose during the public process.