Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe says it is unfair to expect developing countries like South Africa to abandon fossil fuels in favour of green energy.

He was speaking at the Africa Energy Week Conference in Cape Town.

Mantashe says most developed nations rely heavily on fossil fuels for their industrial development.

He says South Africa cannot commit to using only green energy at this stage because the country’s energy production is reliant on coal.

In the video below, Mantashe responds to load shedding:

“Coal supplies 75% of our energy. By 2030, we want it to be under 60%. So I don’t know whether that is not moving away, or moving away is switching it off immediately. By 2030, we want coal to be supplying under 60% of our energy. We are planning to have renewables, increase their role by 18% during the same period,” says Mantashe.

 

On Tuesday, Eskom announced that it will reduce the blackouts from Stage 4 to Stage 3 from 05:00 on Wednesday until Friday 05:00.

Thereafter stage 2 load shedding will be implemented until 05:00 on Saturday 13 November.

The power utility says this is due to the ongoing generation capacity shortages.

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter together with the energy supplier’s top executives held a media briefing on Tuesday, to speak on the latest challenges brought on by rolling blackouts in the country.

The video below is Eskom’s media briefing proceedings: