South Africa’s electricity sector has been under considerable strain during the last decade. In the 90 years since its inception the entity has remained vertically integrated, with little or no structural change. The current structure is ill-suited to meet the country’s energy needs and has been susceptible to corruption and state capture. As a response to this, in October 2019, Eskom published a roadmap to inform electricity sector reform in South Africa. Although reform is long overdue, similar electricity sector reforms in emerging markets highlight the need to adapt the standard model of reform to meet individual country needs. The aftermath of COVID-19 further emphasises the need for Eskom to adapt its reform agenda to the post-pandemic economy by prioritizing social and environmental impacts, creating good jobs without damaging public health or the environment.

As part of the webinar, we will launch the IISD paper Rethinking Eskom: Lessons from electricity sector reform in India and Mexico. The paper analyzes electricity sector reform in India and Mexico, two emerging countries with characteristics comparable to South Africa. The paper assesses the impacts of electricity sector reform on electricity sector ownership, decarbonization, jobs and electricity prices, focusing on lessons for Eskom’s reform.
 

Agenda and Speakers

Opening remarks 
Jongikhaya Witi (South African Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Chief Director, Monitoring, Evaluation and Mitigation)
Dr. Lwandle Mqadi (Eskom, Senior Specialist Consultant, Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Risk & Sustainability)

South Africa’s electricity sector reform
Chido Muzondo (IISD, Energy Policy Consultant in South Africa)

Electricity sector reform and its impact on electricity prices: A case study from India 
Shruti Sharma (IISD-GSI, Associate)

Lessons learned from Mexico's energy reform
Alejandro Chanona Robles (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, Adjunct Professor)

Discussion with panelists 
Anton Eberhard (University of Cape Town, Professor, Power Futures Lab)
Lauren Hermanus (Adapt, Founder and Director)
Matthew Parks (Congress of South African Trade Unions, Parliamentary Coordinator)
Saliem Fakir (The African Climate Foundation, Executive Director)

Questions from the audience 

Closing remarks
Richard Bridle (IISD, Senior Policy Advisor and Lead, Renewable Energy)

Practical information

Wednesday, June 10 | 14:00 SAST / 12:00 GMT

via Zoom
 

Registration

Please register here