WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.150 --> 00:00:01.410 Andre, hi. 2 00:00:01.410 --> 00:00:02.340 Tell us, if you would, 3 00:00:02.340 --> 00:00:04.653 about Eskom's Just Energy Transition. 4 00:00:05.640 --> 00:00:09.049 So the Eskom Just Energy Transition is an integral part 5 00:00:09.049 --> 00:00:11.403 of our corporate strategy. 6 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:15.330 We need to build new generation capacity, 7 00:00:15.330 --> 00:00:17.400 we need to decarbonize, 8 00:00:17.400 --> 00:00:21.450 we need to solve South Africa's electricity crisis 9 00:00:21.450 --> 00:00:26.450 by adding as much capacity as we can as quickly as we can, 10 00:00:26.490 --> 00:00:28.410 as affordably as we can, 11 00:00:28.410 --> 00:00:32.820 which leads us to the really large scale rollout 12 00:00:32.820 --> 00:00:36.720 of new renewable energy generation capacity. 13 00:00:36.720 --> 00:00:38.430 But we have to bear in mind that currently, 14 00:00:38.430 --> 00:00:42.150 about 91% of the electricity 15 00:00:42.150 --> 00:00:45.655 that we generate comes from coal fired plants. 16 00:00:45.655 --> 00:00:47.190 Our plants are old. 17 00:00:47.190 --> 00:00:48.960 They are on average 41 years old 18 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:51.570 and they have had a very hard life. 19 00:00:51.570 --> 00:00:53.250 So we are going to accelerate 20 00:00:53.250 --> 00:00:55.440 the retirement of these plants. 21 00:00:55.440 --> 00:00:57.720 And of course, all of this change 22 00:00:57.720 --> 00:01:00.900 creates a tremendous amount of anxiety 23 00:01:00.900 --> 00:01:04.650 amongst those who've invested in the coal value chain. 24 00:01:04.650 --> 00:01:06.720 So what we need to do is 25 00:01:06.720 --> 00:01:09.330 to take the inevitable energy transition 26 00:01:09.330 --> 00:01:13.590 and make sure that it is just to those communities 27 00:01:13.590 --> 00:01:16.890 that have invested generations of sweat equity 28 00:01:16.890 --> 00:01:19.020 into coal as a commodity. 29 00:01:19.020 --> 00:01:21.930 We can't just put a padlock on the gate and walk away. 30 00:01:21.930 --> 00:01:25.590 We have to really work at enabling the transition 31 00:01:25.590 --> 00:01:27.000 as a just one. 32 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:29.040 How are you calming that anxiety? 33 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:30.723 What actions are you taking? 34 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:32.513 Two things. 35 00:01:32.513 --> 00:01:34.830 I think we need to communicate. 36 00:01:34.830 --> 00:01:37.230 You can never communicate enough 37 00:01:37.230 --> 00:01:40.830 and I don't think we have communicated enough. 38 00:01:40.830 --> 00:01:42.720 We need to do more of that. 39 00:01:42.720 --> 00:01:44.460 But then you also need to deliver. 40 00:01:44.460 --> 00:01:47.940 You need to actually have proof points on the ground 41 00:01:47.940 --> 00:01:52.940 of people gainfully employed in new green technologies. 42 00:01:54.150 --> 00:01:56.670 If you don't do either of those, 43 00:01:56.670 --> 00:02:00.630 then you will inevitably give rise to a lot of suspicion, 44 00:02:00.630 --> 00:02:04.200 a lot of concerns that are legitimate, 45 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:08.700 and you need to keep on plugging away at this. 46 00:02:08.700 --> 00:02:10.770 How should South Africa be collaborating 47 00:02:10.770 --> 00:02:13.893 with the global community for a Just Energy Transition? 48 00:02:14.790 --> 00:02:17.010 What we are offering, I think, 49 00:02:17.010 --> 00:02:22.010 is an opportunity to act as the laboratory 50 00:02:22.110 --> 00:02:23.640 for some of these ideas. 51 00:02:23.640 --> 00:02:27.120 Our flagship Just Energy Transition project, 52 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:29.130 our Komati power station, 53 00:02:29.130 --> 00:02:32.550 which was finally shut down on the 31st of October 54 00:02:32.550 --> 00:02:35.583 after having served South Africa for more than 60 years. 55 00:02:36.480 --> 00:02:39.003 It breathed its last breath. 56 00:02:39.990 --> 00:02:42.510 That is where we want to repurpose, 57 00:02:42.510 --> 00:02:45.120 and repower, and also retrain. 58 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:47.880 What we're finding is that the global community 59 00:02:47.880 --> 00:02:52.290 are coming to us wanting to learn about how to do this. 60 00:02:52.290 --> 00:02:55.890 Now, I won't proclaim to have any specific wisdom 61 00:02:55.890 --> 00:02:56.723 in this regard. 62 00:02:56.723 --> 00:02:58.410 We are learning by doing, 63 00:02:58.410 --> 00:02:59.610 but I think the fact 64 00:02:59.610 --> 00:03:02.160 that we are right at the cutting edge 65 00:03:02.160 --> 00:03:04.060 of implementing these changes 66 00:03:05.171 --> 00:03:07.620 also gives us an advantage 67 00:03:07.620 --> 00:03:09.960 to attract a lot of concessional financing. 68 00:03:09.960 --> 00:03:11.880 Just for Komati, 69 00:03:11.880 --> 00:03:14.310 we have obtained from the World Bank 70 00:03:14.310 --> 00:03:16.680 and the Climate Investment Fund 71 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:19.440 just under a billion dollars in concessional financing. 72 00:03:19.440 --> 00:03:22.440 So that, I think, is an indication 73 00:03:22.440 --> 00:03:24.030 that people are very keen 74 00:03:24.030 --> 00:03:26.010 to support this type of initiative. 75 00:03:26.010 --> 00:03:28.800 What can the world learn from South Africa's experience 76 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:30.390 and how can South Africa 77 00:03:30.390 --> 00:03:32.880 or how do you see South Africa 78 00:03:32.880 --> 00:03:35.160 collaborating with the global community 79 00:03:35.160 --> 00:03:36.840 to accelerate this change? 80 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:40.830 I think we are very keen to collaborate 81 00:03:40.830 --> 00:03:44.400 because we are not in competition with one another. 82 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:46.590 Carbon is a global phenomenon 83 00:03:46.590 --> 00:03:50.940 and the idea that we are putting forward is 84 00:03:50.940 --> 00:03:54.840 that the developing world offers the best opportunity 85 00:03:54.840 --> 00:03:57.930 for decarbonizing the global economy. 86 00:03:57.930 --> 00:04:00.750 To mitigate a ton of carbon in South Africa 87 00:04:00.750 --> 00:04:02.790 is a 10th of the cost of emitting 88 00:04:02.790 --> 00:04:05.610 an equivalent ton of carbon in Germany, for example. 89 00:04:05.610 --> 00:04:09.420 So our calling card to the global community is to say, 90 00:04:09.420 --> 00:04:11.250 come to South Africa 91 00:04:11.250 --> 00:04:15.900 where your tax euros will get bigger bang for buck 92 00:04:15.900 --> 00:04:20.900 than by decarbonizing the last ton in Germany. 93 00:04:21.180 --> 00:04:23.160 Now, it's a slightly controversial argument 94 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:24.360 and there are all local interests 95 00:04:24.360 --> 00:04:26.520 and political interests involved, 96 00:04:26.520 --> 00:04:27.810 but I think we are getting the traction 97 00:04:27.810 --> 00:04:30.420 and we are getting the support that we are looking for. 98 00:04:30.420 --> 00:04:31.253 And finally, 99 00:04:31.253 --> 00:04:34.410 how do you see the power sector evolving in Africa? 100 00:04:34.410 --> 00:04:38.850 I see, as the chief executive 101 00:04:38.850 --> 00:04:42.270 of the incumbent monolithic monopolist, 102 00:04:42.270 --> 00:04:45.038 we are going to unbundle 103 00:04:45.038 --> 00:04:47.130 specifically in order to attract 104 00:04:47.130 --> 00:04:49.473 more private sector generation capacity. 105 00:04:50.700 --> 00:04:54.420 We are going to see a significant decarbonization. 106 00:04:54.420 --> 00:04:57.000 We plan to retire 22 gigawatts 107 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:00.540 of coal-fired capacity by 2035, 108 00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:03.600 which is just under half of our coal fleet. 109 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:06.390 That'll remove about a hundred million tons of carbon 110 00:05:06.390 --> 00:05:09.120 from the atmosphere every year. 111 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:14.120 And we are going to see the trends of decarbonization, 112 00:05:15.540 --> 00:05:20.540 democratization, digitalization become very important 113 00:05:21.510 --> 00:05:24.870 in enabling this transition to take place. 114 00:05:24.870 --> 00:05:29.100 So it's very exciting to see a new industry being born, 115 00:05:29.100 --> 00:05:30.390 as it were. 116 00:05:30.390 --> 00:05:32.460 Andre, thank you so much. 117 00:05:32.460 --> 00:05:33.293 Thank you.