There is a need to "decouple" municipal electricity revenues from energy efficiency initiatives to create an incentive for local governments to implement such power savings schemes, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters argues.

She says there is currently a reluctance to pursue large-scale energy efficiency programmes as these are perceived to be a threat to power-related revenue security.

Therefore, the Department of Energy's (DoE’s) upcoming Electricity Industry Indaba, which is to be held in Durban in mid-March, will focus on ways to cushion municipalities from potential losses associated with savings initiatives.

Peters even hints at the prospect of financial incentives to support councils that embraced energy efficiency. "The contradiction between a successful energy efficiency campaign and reduced municipal revenues needs to be addressed through a revenue decoupling approach, in terms of which municipalities are rewarded to the extent of the revenue loss that emanates from energy efficiency."

In the absence of such an "instrument" municipalities will be inclined to resist energy efficiency.

Besides energy efficiency, which government has identified as central to sustaining supply security during the period ahead of the introduction of new base-load capacity, the DoE also wants municipalities to revive their own power stations, most of which are either idle or operating well below capacity.

"Municipalities that have old power stations need to be encouraged to get them functional again, because they represent an opportunity for municipalities to increase revenues at the same time as improving the country's electricity system reserve margin," the Minister asserts.