The legal and regulatory framework for the electricity supply industry

The South African power sector has changed significantly over the past few years. This edition of the working paper (Part One) provides an overview of the most important changes which took place up until August 2015. The following two aspects stand out: the successful introduction of renewable energy to South Africa’s energy mix through the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) and the severe power crisis which has dramatically exacerbated since the end of 2014 and which could now also engulf the country in a serious economic crisis. Part One of the working paper analyses the measures that the South African government has taken in order to cope with the power crisis and proposes further measures to overcome it. The IPP procurement programmes that have been launched for renewable energy in 2011 and that are now extended to other technologies and energy sources will also be discussed in the light of the power crisis. The legal and regulatory framework for the oil and gas sectors in South Africa is covered in a separate publication: Energy Law in South Africa – Part Two.