South African energy economist predicts tough year ahead

In our first podcast for 2023, Lungile Mashele, an Energy Economist who works for the largest asset manager in Africa, Public Investment Corporation, where she oversees energy projects, and provides technical appraisals on energy projects all over the continent, shared her thoughts on what is likely to trend in the energy sector in 2023. She says anticipates solar PV will be popular globally and say that's because the price has become more favorable as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia continues. “There will be a concerted effort on energy security, especially by European nations, and they will be scrambling to make sure that they get sufficient energy to take them through their next winter as well,” said Lungile. She adds that there is no political will to alleviate the heavy load that is the high energy prices which 60% of the African population can’t afford. Lungile says people who can’t access energy are also denied economic opportunities and she called on politicians to prioritize people’s needs. Africa’s most industrialized economy, South Africa, is struggling to keep lights on and the electricity prices have recently skyrocketed. The country was a case study for this podcast with Lungile saying the problems South Africa faces have a lot to do with internal politics, operational challenges, and lack of investment. Listen to the podcast for full details.