As Eskom missed another deadline to bring its Medupi power station online, and its financial woes have led to fears over South Africa’s electricity supply in 2015, world energy leaders will congregate in Johannesburg in a month to discuss the continent’s energy future.
The annual Africa Energy Indaba – the continent’s premier energy event – takes place on the 17-18 February 2015 at the Sandton Convention Centre, drawing global energy leaders and energy ministers from eight African nations. The event, which will put South Africa’s energy crisis in a broader spotlight, could not be coming at a more important time. The high quality of delegates and officials attending this year’s event is opportune for South Africa. South Africa’s government officials and business leaders are being given an opportunity to deliberate and address issues with energy leaders with a new sense of urgency as they grapple with the challenges and spinoffs being caused by the nation’s power crisis.“Without energy, Africa’s economies cannot grow. Energy is needed for life, for education, for healthcare and for development. The window of opportunity for investment in Africa’s energy sectors is big at the moment, and current leaders must act decisively,” says Liz Hart, Managing Director of Siyenza, the organisers of the annual Africa Energy Indaba.
The cogs of the South African economy started turning again with most of the working class returning to work for the year. Consumers, along with energy intensive electricity users like the mining and manufacturing industries have been urged to use electricity sparingly to help reduce demand. The Africa Energy Indaba exhibition, running concurrently to the conference, offers those attending the platform to network with service providers, suppliers and energy experts and view products that could support their businesses and industries during times of load shedding. The event also boasts a number of side events, including the invitation-only Indaba Energy Leader’s Dialogue, the Sustainable Energy for All Forum, an IPP/PPA conference, the first Women in Energy conference and an Energy Efficiency and Resilient Energy Infrastructure workshop.
