Tax break on the cards for energy saving companies

South Africa plans to give a tax allowance to companies that save energy in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Department of Energy said on Friday.

Africa’s biggest economy has been under pressure to reduce its carbon footprint, with more than 90% of its power currently supplied by coal-fired plants. It also faces tight supplies in the face of fast-rising demand.

The department said the regulations, which the public can submit comments on for the next 60 days, would provide a tax allowance for any company that produced a certificate proving its energy savings were genuine.

Companies would have to submit the certificate to the South African Revenue Service to claim the allowance.

A senior government official said on Wednesday South Africa was confident that a recently launched bidding process for renewable energy will lead to the addition of 3 725MW of green energy to the national grid by 2016.—Reuters