MBOMBELA – The province has a plan to address energy shortages. Despite the premier Mr David Mabuza’s comment during his State of the Province Address (SOPA) on Friday that load-shedding was a good thing as it indicated economic growth, he announced that Mpumalanga planned to start generating hydro electricity.
“Initiatives include the construction of strategic dams to increase the availability of water supply for development.
In this regard, Mbombela will commence with processes leading to the construction of a dam that will incorporate hydro-energy generation,” he said.
Other plans include the establishment of a large-scale bio-mass plant for energy generation in the financial year starting in April and the identification of sites to establish solid waste energy plants.
“More importantly, our close proximity to Mozambique and existing infrastructure transporting gas to South Africa presents opportunities for the province to set up gas-powered energy generation infrastructure. We will prioritise this initiative to address our energy needs.”
- Read what opposition parties had to say here.
- To see how this year’s SOPA stacks up against last year’s, click here.
- See the dignitaries on the SOPA red-carpet here.
