We note some of the major activities that have surfaced in the last 2 months (November/ December). COP21 concluded on the 11th of December 2015 in Paris. South Africa was among the 187 countries that submitted their action plans to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions below 2. The legally binding agreement to keeping global temperatures below 2 was reached, and further provides a target of 1.5 for island countries that are threatened by sea rise.
At the centre of the water shortages and higher temperatures, the City of Cape Town in December 2015 announced that it would impose water restrictions. With the dams which feed the provincial water supply 15% lower than the norm for the time of year; it was proposed that the City implement Level 2 restrictions (20% savings) to preserve the long-term sustainability of the resource. The water restrictions were implemented on 1 January 2015.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa announced on the 12 November 2015 that it had received the Regulatory Clearing Account (RCA) application – third Multi Year Price Determination (MYPD3) Year 1 (2013/14) which was submitted by Eskom on the 10 November 2015. According to a media statement released by NERSA, in terms of the provisions of the MYPD Methodology, the Energy Regulator has to, upon application by Eskom, assess certain qualifying allowed revenue and expenditure against actual revenue and expenditure. The National Energy Regulator will assess Eskom’s application following due regulatory processes. The RCA is necessitated by the fact that the revenue and expenditure approved for Eskom is largely based on forecasts. The MYPD rules require that from time to time a reconciliation of these variances be done in order to quantify over/under collection of revenue and over/under-expenditure on Eskom’s part. The Energy Regulator allows only expenditure that has passed the efficiency test. Should the results of the assessment indicate that Eskom has to reimburse the customers; the price of electricity would have to decrease proportionally to the RCA balance. Similarly if the customers have to reimburse Eskom, the price would have to increase.
The public hearing in the Western Cape was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on the 19th of January 2016. Among the businesses/ organisations that presented were Deloitte; Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry; SAFCEI; Agri Western Cape; and One Million Climate Jobs Campaign.
NERSA indicated on the date that a decision would be made on the 26th of February 2016 after public hearings in all provinces
The Western Cape Government Department of Economic Development and Tourism in partnership with Deloitte have announced a Funding Fair for 2016. The annual Western Cape Funding Fair is aimed at supporting economic growth and job creation by promoting entrepreneurship and SME business. Applications close on the 29 February 2015, and the preparation workshop will take place on 4 May 2015 with the Fair on 25 May 2015. Entrance is free for the general public but registration is essential; please visit the Western Cape Funding Fair website for more details.
The Western Cape and South Africa at large had so many lessons to learn in 2015, from load-shedding to the water crisis. 2016 maybe a chance to offset and do more. COP21 and the engagements that emerged from it were also eye openers not only for South Africa but many developing and underdeveloped countries as well. The Western Cape Government in particular will continue to be involved, strive to shape the green economy landscape in the Western Cape by optimising resource efficiency and industry productivity, and incentivising job creation in the green space. We consider these alignments a pathway to a more sustainable future, and it is also an important tool to drive and overcome South Africa’s development challenges.