Description: On 29 May 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the merger of the Department of Mineral Resources and the Department of Energy into one department, as the Department of Mineral resources and Energy (DMRE). The existence of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy is premised on its vision of becoming a leader in the transformation of South Africa’s economic growth agenda through the sustainable development of the mining and energy sectors.

The Department’s Energy Policy is based on the following key objectives: attaining universal access to energy; accessible, affordable and reliable energy, especially for the poor; diversifying primary energy sources and reducing dependency on coal; good governance, which must also facilitate and encourage private sector investments in the energy sector; and environmentally responsible energy provision. This mandate is from the White Paper on Energy Policy, 1998, the White Paper on Renewable Energy, 2003, and the National Energy Efficiency Strategy.