Issue 250, 21 Oct 2026

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Please share this invitation to friends, colleagues and all interested persons.

Please see the final updated Announcement and Invitation to this online Workshop entitled:

Stakeholder and public engagement on the National Energy Efficiency Strategy, NEES 2026-2035

This now includes the Draft National Energy Efficiency Strategy NEES 2026-2035, the DEE Comments Excel Spreadsheet, and the biographies of the presenters.

Date: Tuesday 27 October 2026

Time: 14h00 to 16h30 SA Time (GMT+2)

Platform: Zoom Webinar 1000.

Cost: Free-of-charge, all welcome.

Hosted by: Department of Energy & Electricity and The World Bank Group

In association with: EE Business Intelligence

Register to attend the online workshop

Download the Draft National Energy Efficiency Strategy, NEES 2026-2035

Download the NEES 2026-2035 comments Excel spreadsheet

Download the presenter biographies

Presenters 

• Opening address: Xolile Mabusela, Director: Energy Efficiency & Environment, Dept of Electricity & Energy
• Global perspective: Joonkyong Seong, Senior Energy Adviser at The World Bank.
• Presenter 1: Dr Theo Covary, NEES coordinator.
• Presenter 2: Margaret McKenzie, NEES author.
• Presenter 3: Astghine Pasoyan, NEES author.
• Wrap-up: Mthunzi Mangqalaza, Energy Efficiency Coordinator, Dept of Electricity & Energy

Synopsis

South Africa’s economy remains highly energy- and carbon-intensive, making energy efficiency one of the country’s most immediate and cost-effective opportunities to strengthen energy security, reduce costs and support economic growth.

Improved energy efficiency can lower electricity demand, ease pressure on the national power system, reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and air pollution, enhance industrial competitiveness and unlock investment, innovation and sustainable employment. It is therefore a critical pillar of South Africa’s energy transition and its broader economic development agenda.

The first National Energy Efficiency Strategy, covering the period 2005-2015, established an economy-wide target to reduce energy intensity by 12%. Now entering its third iteration, the National Energy Efficiency Strategy 2026-2035 sets out the next phase of South Africa’s national commitment to using energy more productively, affordably and sustainably.

This stakeholder and public engagement forms part of the formal consultation process on the Cabinet-endorsed draft NEES 2026-2035. It will provide government, business, industry, financiers, energy specialists, researchers and civil society with an important opportunity to understand the proposed strategy, engage directly with its authors and contribute to its final direction.

The engagement will be structured as follows: 

1. Context: Policy, Governance, Macroeconomic & Energy-Economy Nexus
2. Strategic Imperatives & Barriers: Historical barriers and contemporary challenges
3. Energy Efficiency Status Quo: Energy efficiency Status Quo in South Africa
4. Proposed New Strategy: Strategic Vision & Quantitative Targets (2026-2035)
5. Strategic Goals & Objectives: Core goals and specific objectives guiding implementation
6. Implementation Framework: Governance, financing, M&E, and risk management systems
7. Priority Actions (2026-2028): Three-year roadmap: Foundation, Scale-Up, Acceleration
8. International Commitments: Alignment with climate, green economy, SDG targets, AU Agenda 

This engagement initiates the public consultation process, and its purposes is to familiarise participants with the process and the high-level content of the NEES. Comments and inputs must be submitted through a formal process which will be explained during the meeting. However, the audience will be invited to raise questions, identify practical implementation challenges and offer recommendations that can help ensure the final strategy is ambitious, credible and capable of delivering measurable economic, social and environmental benefits.

This is an important opportunity for stakeholders to help shape South Africa’s energy-efficiency priorities for the decade ahead.

Format

This will be a 2½ hour online engagement conducted on the Zoom Webinar 1000 platform, which can accommodate up to 1000 concurrent participants/attendees. There will be a 10-minute opening address, followed by three presentations by the NEES research team and authors, who will present on the approach and structure of NEES and the outputs of each of the six economic sectors, followed by a 1-minute wrap-up. Thereafter there will be a 30-minute open discussion and Q&A session for participants to provide observations and inputs. A summary of the proceedings and the way forward then will be given before closure.

Programme

• 14h00 – 14h05: Welcome: Chris Yelland, EE Business Intelligence
• 14h05 – 14h15: Opening address: Xolile Mabusela, Department of Electricity & Energy
• 14h15 – 14h25: Global Perspective: Joonkyung Seong, World Bank
• 14h25 – 14h40: Presenter 1: Dr Theo Covary, NEES coordinator 
• 14h40 – 15h10: Presenter 2: Margaret McKenzie, NEES author
• 15h10 – 15h25: Comfort break.
• 15h25 – 15h55: Presenter 3: Astghine Pasoyan, NEES author
• 15h55 – 16h05: Wrap-up: Mthunzi Mangqalaza, Department of Electricity & Energy
• 16h05 – 16h25: Open discussion and Q&A session: Moderated by Chris Yelland
• 16h25 – 16h30: Closure: Chris Yelland.

Register to attend the online workshop

Download the Draft National Energy Efficiency Strategy, NEES 2026-2035

Download the NEES 2026-2035 comments Excel spreadsheet

Download the presenter biographies

EE Business Intelligence

EE Business Intelligence strives to be a positive formative influence on policy, economic, social, regulatory, standardisation, training and business development in the energy, electricity sectors of Africa. Its activities and services include thought leadership, analysis, research, consulting, special assignments, business intelligence, strategic event facilitation and management, and public, corporate and media speaking engagements and commentary.