Modern Mining February 2020

MINING INDABA REVIEW

Mkuzisi Kota, partner at Webber Wentzel.

Alexandra Felekis, partner at Webber Wentzel.

Jason van der Poel, Webber Wentzel’s specialist in power and energy.

been addressed by President Cyril Ramaphosa dur- ing his SONA address, when he promised that the regulator would ensure that all applications by com- mercial and industrial users to produce electricity for own use above 1 MW are processed within 120 days. Intricacies of the legislation Subsequent to Mantashe’s address at Mining Indaba, the general understanding by many is that “mining companies can now generate own power without licences”. How far true is this? Explaining the current regulatory context, Mkuzisi Kota, partner at Webber Wentzel, says the central piece of the legislation regulating electricity in South Africa is the Electricity Regulation Act, 4 of 2006 (the ERA). Section 4 of the ERA grants NERSA various

Van der Poel is of the view that several mining companies will need electricity generation facilities. Under current law, these will require a ministerial deviation from the IRP, which the minister, to date, has appeared reluctant to issue. “The RFI for emergency power is encouraging and we await to see the procurement process that emerges from the RFI responses from the market. A key issue will be generally how fast government can move to harness generation capacity that is ready to be engaged and whether the minister will use his powers under the Electricity Regulation Act to expedite approvals that may be needed by gen- erators that can provide electricity very quickly,” says Van der Poel. However, Van der Poel’s concerns seem to have

Delegates attending this year’s Mining Indaba.

16  MODERN MINING  February 2020