News24 Business front pageIndependent power producers hoping will now be able to make use of a newly-launched"one-stop shop" that will significantly cut red tape and speed up processes, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has said.
The"single point of entry" would accelerate the connection of renewables to the grid and eliminate the need for project sponsors to"be all over the place", Ramokgopa said - for example, needing separate applications and approvals from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Water Affairs, Public Works and Infrastructure, to name a few.
This is one of a number of administrative steps that have been taken over the past year in a bid to alleviate ongoing load shedding. On Friday, Nersa announced that it had approved an operating licence for the National Transmission Company of South Africa - a crucial step in Eskom's unbundling process. It has yet to approve transmission, trading and import/ export licences. Ramokgopa also gave an update on a recent fire at Grootvlei power station, which took its Unit 2 offline.