An agreement between the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the energy department will help South Africa become more energy efficient, minister Dipuo Peters said in Johannesburg on Monday.
“This … is an important milestone for us because it seals the co-operative engagement that we enjoy with the IEA,” she told reporters at Eskom’s Megawatt Park.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be signed later on Monday evening.
It would be critical in ensuring that South Africa was not left behind when it came to “saving electricity in a hurry”.
“Energy is the lifeblood of any economy, and economical development is highly dependable on the availability of energy resources.”
She said the relationship with the IEA would be mutually beneficial. Details of the memorandum would only be known after it was signed.
Peters said, however, that it would help South Africa gain expertise from other countries, embodied in the IEA.
The MOU would cover renewable energy, data management and analysis, energy efficiency, clean technologies, and policy analysis.
IEA executive director Nobuo Tanaka said the organisation was trying to work more closely with emerging economies like South Africa.
It was also in consultation with other countries such as China, India, Russia and Brazil.
Saving electricity in a hurry would ultimately help with the problem of climate change, Tanaka said.
Peters added that the relationship between the two “would become an important tool” for the department.
“Without energy, nothing can move,” she said.
A three-day bilateral conference was under way at Megawatt Park. The IEA’s visit to South Africa would end on Wednesday. — Sapa