• Nedbank SA has extended its green finance pipeline to more than R10 billion
  • The SA Central Bank reduced its prediction for 2023 economic growth to 0.3%
  • Since 2008, South Africa has struggled with sporadic power outages due to the inability of Eskom's ageing and badly maintained coal-fed plants to fulfil the demand

Harare- As more South African companies invest in private power generation following the government's relaxation of limitations to assist in resolving the nation's energy problem, Nedbank SA has extended its green finance pipeline to more than R10 billion. There are very strong pipelines currently in Nedbank’s business and across the country for private sector generation - that is a very large growth sector in an otherwise challenging growth environment. Before it connects to the grid and solves the issue, it will probably take two to three years.

A 100-megawatt cap on embedded generation was removed by SA President Cyril Ramaphosa in July 2022, enabling businesses and people to generate power without a license to meet their requirements and sell to the grid. In an effort to hasten the nation's shift away from a reliance on coal for more than 80% of its power and toward cleaner energy sources, the state increased its procurement of renewable energy by double to 5 200 megawatts under a so-called bid window six.

Since 2008, South Africa has struggled with sporadic power outages due to the inability of the government-owned energy supplier Eskom's ageing and badly maintained coal-fed plants to fulfil demand. The South African Reserve Bank estimates that load shedding, the local term for electricity rationing, may cost the economy R899 million a day. As Eskom imposes more severe and frequent outages, the central bank reduced its prediction for 2023 economic growth to 0.3%.

Despite the material challenges in the short-to-medium term, South Africa still has a lot of potential. This nation, according to analysts has some of the top 10 mineral deposits in those minerals that are so essential for growth throughout the world. Nedbank can serve as a bridge to Africa. Therefore, although undoubtedly the country faces immediate difficulties, confidence in the long-term potential of South Africa through the projects is envisaged.

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