frequently asked questions

SAGEN’s political partner is the DEE. The downstream partner structure comprises public institutions at the national and sub-national level, including the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), Eskom Holdings, Eskom Distribution, National Treasury, SALGA, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), SANEDI and selected municipalities. Through its work, SAGEN indirectly benefits the South African population, which depends on a reliable, affordable and clean electricity supply. SAGEN works in close coordination with German and international development cooperation partners, including within the framework of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P).

SAGEN provides technical advice and capacity building to policymakers in relevant government bodies, including the regulator. This encompasses aspects such as establishing competitive markets and updating the legal and regulatory framework for the power sector. Another significant focus of the programme is enhancing the electricity distribution sector. SAGEN’s approach involves a thorough analysis of the sector’s current performance to craft potential scenarios and actionable strategies for the future. This analysis empowers municipalities to recognize and leverage emerging business models that may arise during reforms, aiming to bolster viable distribution companies in South Africa and ensure their sustainability.

Ideas can be shared via sagen@giz.de. Please note that, due to limited resources, the extent to which suggestions can be taken forward will depend on the team’s available capacity. Also note that SAGEN usually does not award assignments or contracts directly. Services and consultancies are generally procured through competitive tender processes in line with GIZ procurement regulations and procedures.

Skills development focuses on improving specific individual abilities or competencies, while capacity development is broader and includes strengthening people, organisations, and systems to function more effectively.

To equip individuals and public organisations with the expertise and tools required to shape South Africa’s sustainable energy future, SAGEN supports tailored training and knowledge exchange formats to refine expertise, strengthen the capabilities of stakeholders and foster a collaborative environment for sustainable energy practices and proactive engagement in the ongoing energy transition.

Embedded Generation is important because it improves energy reliability, reduces pressure on the main electricity grid, increases local energy supply options, and supports the use of cleaner, renewable energy sources

It changes electricity demand patterns, can reduce grid electricity sales, and requires grid upgrades and management to safely handle electricity flowing in both directions.

Registration ensures the system is safe, compliant with regulations, properly accounted for on the grid, and prevents technical risks to the electricity network.

The Embedded Generation resource portal serves as a comprehensive knowledge hub for municipalities, customers and other stakeholders with guidance on regulations, application processes, tariffs, and much more. Through this portal, users can access training material, templates, tools and resources to better understand Embedded Generation technology and the processes that need to be implemented to allow the safe integration into distribution networks.

Customers can also submit their application to install embedded generation systems up to 1MW/1000kVA via the online application system here. There are currently 55 participating municipalities. If your municipality is not listed on the website, it is best to check to check their website or contact them to enquire about their application process.

Gender mainstreaming matters because without it, policies can unintentionally favour one group over others or ignore real differences in people’s needs. By considering gender from the start, decisions are more fair, inclusive, and effective for everyone.

No. Gender equality is the goal of equal rights, opportunities, and treatment for all genders, while gender mainstreaming is the strategy used to help achieve that goal by integrating gender considerations into all policies and decisions.

SAGEN contributes by advancing and coordinating a gender action group dedicated to women in leadership roles, executing organisational gender-responsive development initiatives for the public institutions in the energy sector, providing support for the involvement of management personnel identifying as women in additional training programmes, coaching sessions, and networking opportunities and by creating working groups and forums for women in decision-making positions to drive and implement measures related to identified strategies

Municipalities use EMS to reduce electricity costs, improve energy efficiency in public services, support climate and emissions reduction targets, and ensure more reliable and sustainable use of energy resources.

The Municipal Energy Management System (MEMS) Resource Portal (www.memsresources.org.za) serves as a comprehensive knowledge hub dedicated to EMS tailored specifically for South African municipalities. Through this portal, municipal officials gain access to essential knowledge necessary for strategizing and executing energy management initiatives within their respective municipalities. By leveraging the resources available, municipalities can optimize energy usage and effectively lower energy consumption rates.

South Africa’s electricity system has been characterised by regular and, in some cases, massive power outages. The institutional, legal, regulatory and technical conditions for a competitive electricity market have not yet been fully created. A cost-effective restructuring of the electricity supply system is needed to create conditions for greater economic growth and to enable an accelerated expansion of renewable energy. Transparency in the sector is increasing through the unbundling of Eskom, the strengthening of the role of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) and the introduction of a competitive electricity trading platform. These reforms are necessary for South Africa to achieve its climate targets and to ensure a reliable and affordable electricity supply for its population.

The Electricity Distribution Industry (EDI) reform refers to the fundamental reform of the electricity distribution industry in South Africa, which includes municipalities and Eskom Distribution. The difficult financial and capacity situation of many municipalities has a negative impact on the planning, expansion, operation and maintenance of distribution networks and thus on security of supply and customer satisfaction. The reform aims to enable selected cities and municipalities to fulfil their supply mandate for their citizens more efficiently and economically through comprehensive institutional, financial and technical restructuring. SAGEN supports the EDI reform by advising selected cities and municipalities on cost-of-supply analysis, cost-covering tariff design and institutional restructuring, and by supporting them in meeting the criteria for participation in the Metro Trading Services Reform.

Renewable energies require electricity networks to become more flexible and adaptive to manage variable energy supply and maintain grid reliability.

Many existing electricity networks lack the capacity and infrastructure needed to connect and transmit growing amounts of renewable energy quickly and reliably, resulting in delays to integration and electricity delivery

Renewable energies are most certainly reliable. Due to their natural intermittent/variable nature, renewable energy can be supported by energy storage, flexible power systems, diversified energy sources, and backup generation balances supply and demand.