SAAEE13 May 2018 20:24
A new independent profes�sional organisation was launched in Pretoria late last month with the aim of raising the level of research and debate on energy economics in South Africa, where policy and regula�tory uncertainty remain a major constraint to investment.
Named the South African Association for Energy Economics (SAAEE), the organi� sation is also the thirtieth affiliate of the International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE), an interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of ideas, experience and issues among professionals inter� ested in energy economics.
The IAEE has more than 4 100 members in over 110 countries.
SAAEE president Professor Roula Inglesi-Lotz said that, while South Africa had signi� ficant energy skills, technology and resources, progress in the sec� tor was being hampered by ongo� ing policy uncertainty, as well as a lack of innovation in devis� ing solutions to some of the cri� tical problems that had arisen in the sector in recent years. �The aim is to stimulate high�qual� ity, informed, scientific and evi� dence�based research and dialogue to contribute towards an improve� ment of public policy in the energy sector,� Inglesi�Lotz said.
IAEE president Professor David Knapp and president�elect Professor Christophe Bonnery were both present at the launch of the SAAEE and pledged their support for the association�s future growth and development.
IAEE executive director David Williams, who was also present, encouraged South African parti� cipation in the international body�s various conferences and networks, while highlighting the potential for South African researchers to contribute to its two peer�reviewed jour� nals, The Energy Journal and the Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy journal.
Speaking on behalf of the Department of Energy, the South African National Energy Development Institute�s (Sanedi�s) Barry Bredenkamp described the launch of the SAAEE as �long overdue� and expressed the hope that it would help raise the qua� lity of the South African debate on energy economics.
�South Africa has no shortage of technical skills, no shortage of engineers that can provide tech� nical solutions to the challenges we are facing and the techno� logies are available. Everything seems to be in place, but we are not getting the economics right,� Bredenkamp lamented.
As evidence, he pointed to theconsistent failure of government to deliver an updated Integrated Resource Plan for elec� tricity, as well as Eskom�s application to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa to recoup foregone revenue and costs of more than R66�billion. He also urged both the SAAEE and the IAEE to provide input into the energy working group of the Brics bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China
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