Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and several other organisations are collaborating with the government to address the country’s energy crisis and welcomes the Energy One-Stop Shop (EOSS) initiative.

The EOSS is a response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2022 announcement of an Energy Action Plan, which led to the establishment of the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM).

NECOM is a high-level group comprising ministers and state officials interfacing with business CEO champions and organised business executives, prioritising – among other interventions – the initiation of the EOSS.

The EOSS platform is designed to expedite the deployment of energy projects, aligning with the recently amended Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act (ERA). The EOSS, as a collaborative effort, aims to provide business support and contribute to resolving the energy challenges in South Africa.

These are some of the efforts government is taking to support small-scale embedded generation power projects (under Schedule 2 of the ERA) to realise energy security for the economy and decarbonisation efforts.

Background of the EOSS

The EOSS, which was officially launched by Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel in July, is in the ramp-up phase of a four-stage process aimed at fast-tracking the regulatory approvals required for new electricity projects to be connected to the grid.

Energy crisis

• Electricity capacity shortfall is 6 000 MW
• +R899-million a day in the economy is lost due to load shedding
• IPPs needed about 365 days and more than 12 different authorisations
• Developers/funders have become risk averse.

Solutions

• Resolve the energy crisis and transform the electricity sector
• Enable and accelerate private investment
• Accelerate procurement from renewables, gas and battery storage
• Encourage businesses and households to invest in solar and other renewable energy alternatives
• Fundamentally transform the electricity sector
• Priority action of NECOM – the establishment of the EOSS.

Role of the EOSS

• Act as a conduit between developers and authorisation-competent authorities
• Reduce challenges encountered by developers
• Provide a single-window facilitation process for energy projects
• Shorten time frames for project approvals by expediting, fast-tracking and removing blockages.