Local governments' changing power in South Africa's energy system: reshaping the regulatory space for renewable energy, from the bottom up

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dc.contributor.advisorLevy, Brianen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorHermanus, Laurenen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2017-09-22T12:12:34Z
dc.date.available2017-09-22T12:12:34Z
dc.date.issued2017en_ZA
dc.description.abstractIn 1994, South Africa's post-apartheid government inherited a highly-centralised energy sector, in which all aspects including planning, procurement, generation, distribution, pricing, and management were determined through top-down institutional arrangements and investments, centred around Eskom. In 2016, however, following rounds of energy sector reform, and the successful implementation of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), this centralised configuration of power showed signs of disruption. Municipalities began to ambitiously redefine their role by building on opportunities related to renewable energy, resulting in an emergent challenge to centralised energy policy and planning. This dissertation sought to explore how this contestation took shape and to explain how seemingly ad hoc actions have created new possibilities, as well as new regulatory frameworks, by municipalities for municipalities. To achieve this, an analysis of the evolution of decentralised renewable energy generation in South Africa between 2008, when it first began, and 2016, was undertaken, applying the method of process tracing to two case studies. In order to contextualise these bottom-up processes within the national political economy of energy, process tracing was also applied in a high-level analysis of countervailing movements that consolidate centralised energy planning and procurement during the same period, with a particular focus on national plans to undertake massive investments in nuclear energy. It was found that municipalities' bottom-up actions have positioned them to drive renewable energy in such a way that seriously challenges the historical configuration of power that has determined South Africa's energy future up to now.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationHermanus, L. (2017). <i>Local governments' changing power in South Africa's energy system: reshaping the regulatory space for renewable energy, from the bottom up</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25323en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationHermanus, Lauren. <i>"Local governments' changing power in South Africa's energy system: reshaping the regulatory space for renewable energy, from the bottom up."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25323en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationHermanus, L. 2017. Local governments' changing power in South Africa's energy system: reshaping the regulatory space for renewable energy, from the bottom up. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Hermanus, Lauren AB - In 1994, South Africa's post-apartheid government inherited a highly-centralised energy sector, in which all aspects including planning, procurement, generation, distribution, pricing, and management were determined through top-down institutional arrangements and investments, centred around Eskom. In 2016, however, following rounds of energy sector reform, and the successful implementation of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), this centralised configuration of power showed signs of disruption. Municipalities began to ambitiously redefine their role by building on opportunities related to renewable energy, resulting in an emergent challenge to centralised energy policy and planning. This dissertation sought to explore how this contestation took shape and to explain how seemingly ad hoc actions have created new possibilities, as well as new regulatory frameworks, by municipalities for municipalities. To achieve this, an analysis of the evolution of decentralised renewable energy generation in South Africa between 2008, when it first began, and 2016, was undertaken, applying the method of process tracing to two case studies. In order to contextualise these bottom-up processes within the national political economy of energy, process tracing was also applied in a high-level analysis of countervailing movements that consolidate centralised energy planning and procurement during the same period, with a particular focus on national plans to undertake massive investments in nuclear energy. It was found that municipalities' bottom-up actions have positioned them to drive renewable energy in such a way that seriously challenges the historical configuration of power that has determined South Africa's energy future up to now. DA - 2017 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2017 T1 - Local governments' changing power in South Africa's energy system: reshaping the regulatory space for renewable energy, from the bottom up TI - Local governments' changing power in South Africa's energy system: reshaping the regulatory space for renewable energy, from the bottom up UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25323 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/25323
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationHermanus L. Local governments' changing power in South Africa's energy system: reshaping the regulatory space for renewable energy, from the bottom up. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Commerce ,Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice, 2017 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25323en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentGraduate School of Development Policy and Practiceen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Commerceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherDevelopment Policy and Practiceen_ZA
dc.titleLocal governments' changing power in South Africa's energy system: reshaping the regulatory space for renewable energy, from the bottom upen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMPhilen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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