SANEA ENERGY WORKSHOP postponed due to the Publication of the NATIONAL ENERGY BILL

SANEA wishes to inform you of the decision to postpone the SANEA Energy Workshop on 10 July and 21 August 2008.  This decision results from the publication of the National Energy Bill on 19 June 2008.  This Bill provides for the establishment of a National Energy Modelling and Information Agency and a National Energy Development Institute.

Between them, these bodies will gather energy information, analyse and model the information and produce an Integrated Energy Plan for South Africa with a 25 year horizon.  The transition arrangements provide for this work to be carried out within the Central Energy Fund (CEF) framework.

This move towards formal energy planning is to be welcomed and it is something that SANEA has been promoting for a number of years.

It was to contribute to filling this void that SANEA proposed to hold an Energy Workshop to bring the parties together, gather information and assemble it into a useful form.

SANEA is also committed to promoting cooperation between the public and private sectors of the South African Economy and is of the view that to continue with its workshop would lead to unnecessary duplication of effort when we all know that South Africa’s skilled resources are stretched.

SANEA has therefore decided to postpone its workshop and to enter into discussions with CEF with a view to finding a way to pool resources and ensure that we work together to arrive at a solution that is in the best interests of all the parties involved.

We would like to thank you for the interest you have shown in supporting the SANEA Energy Workshop.  We hope that you will all have the opportunity to contribute to the national process as it unfolds and that we will all benefit from having an Integrated National Energy Plan that will provide clear direction for the way forward.

Yours faithfully

Brian A Statham
CHAIRMAN