Urban Transformation in South Africa Through Co-Designing Energy Services Provision Pathways

Energy is a critical enabler of development. Energy transitions, involving changes to both systems of energy supply and demand, are fundamental processes behind the development of human societies and are driven by technical, economic, political and social factors. Historical specificities and geography influence the character of energy transitions. In a world that is experiencing unprecedented urban growth, modern urbanised societies are highly dependent on energy. By 2030, more than 50% of people in developing countries are expected to live in cities, which is a figure set to grow to 66% by 2050. This urbanisation trend is even more prominent in South Africa, where 64% of its population already live in urban areas and is expected to rise to 70% by 2030. South African cities are highly dependent on energy, and access to and the provision of energy services affects urban energy transitions. Furthermore, access to affordable and reliable energy services is fundamental to reducing poverty and advancing economic growth. In response to this, many cities in South Africa and beyond have adopted sustainable energy provision strategies and solutions as a way of promoting economic development and greening of urban economies. However, Sustainable Energy Africa (SEA)'s State of the Energy in South African Cities report (2015) identifies that much remains to be done in order to transform South African cities towards a more sustainable urban energy profile, which is in turn aimed at improving welfare, supporting economic activity, creating 'green collar' and other jobs, and reducing carbon emissions. The project's focus on urban energy transitions is therefore both timely and necessary.

Cities in South Africa are notable for their central role in the governance of energy. Municipalities are constitutionally mandated to serve as electricity distributors and are responsible for maintaining infrastructure, providing new connections and setting minimum service level standards as well as pricing and subsidies levels for poor consumers. Therefore, municipalities have become major actors in urban energy infrastructures. Nonetheless, systemic change is hampered by: a.) the lack of integrated energy strategies; b.) the declining performance of energy supply networks in South Africa; c.) the high carbon intensity of South Africa's energy supply, at a time when South Africa is actively seeking to decarbonize the economy; d.) a stalled level of electrification in certain poor urban areas in South African cities; and e.) the continued prevalence of energy poverty, even in grid-connected South African urban households. A key issue is the continued prevalence of a focus on energy supply, as opposed to the broader and more complex notion of energy services.

It is clear that municipal processes and systems will have to change in order for energy transitions to occur. This project investigates the dynamics and co-evolution of municipal processes so as to create pathways to new, greener and fairer urban energy configurations. The project establishes a dialogue between work on socio-technical transitions and on energy geographies to analyze and identify energy transition pathways towards municipal-scale energy services regimes. The project's embeddedness in ongoing urban energy transition work will provide an evidence-base for co-designing pathways for energy services provision in South Africa's cities, alongside exploring opportunities in new energy configurations for transformations to urban green economies. This research project consists of SA research partners (the University of Cape Town's Energy Research Centre) and UK partners (King's College London; the University of Manchester; Plymouth University and the University of Sussex), together with the local energy transition expertise of Sustainable Energy Africa.

The project will have an impact in informing policymaking as well as business and community engagement in municipalities in South Africa and Southern Africa. Our research project involves sustained and detailed engagement with beneficiaries in South Africa:

Policy beneficiaries: policymakers at the national level, especially those concerned with urban energy systems and energy infrastructure and economic planning, or with environmental planning (such as the Departments of: Energy; Economic Development; Environmental Affairs; Human Settlements); d.) local government bodies at the level of individual case studies, including energy agencies at the scale of urban municipalities. These beneficiaries will benefit from engagement in the project through published outputs and from attendance at community-focused stakeholder impact workshops (see 'community beneficiaries' below), policy workshops, and the project website.

Business beneficiaries: South African businesses such as energy infrastructure, energy systems and renewable energy manufacturing and installation corporations; and urban development and design firms, engineering corporations, or consultancies. Business beneficiaries will benefit from published, workshop and webinar impact mechanisms mentioned above (in the discussion on policy beneficiaries), as well as from a specific, business-focused output: an Executive Summary Report targeting business impact, informed through engagement with businesspeople and corporations throughout the project's lifetime, therefore making sure that the report targets topics, issues and solutions relevant to SA businesses.

Community beneficiaries: these will include local community stakeholders at case study sites, including municipal and wider community actors. These beneficiaries represent those who will be most directly affected by energy transitions projects and policies. It is expected that many of these beneficiaries will be located in and around our case study municipalities, although one of the project's aims is for the identified transition pathways to be open to upscaling and application across a wide range of municipalities. Community beneficiaries will also include NGOs, civil society organizations, and individual citizens. They will benefit from all the activities mentioned above, with a particular focus on the stakeholder impact meetings.

Policy, business and community beneficiaries: will benefit from the provision made within the project for these beneficiaries to participate at stakeholder impact meetings and policy workshops in the UK and South Africa. These events will be key knowledge sharing, mutual learning and networking opportunities for policymakers, businesses and community stakeholders. Those beneficiaries participating in policy workshops in South Africa will benefit from case study site visits to selected smart eco-cities, enabling on-the-ground policy and practice learning.

Finally, we aim to achieve broader societal impact through enabling the construction of cleaner and more equitable urban economies and environments, thus helping to ensure successful energy transitions, the emergence of a sustainable green economy, and better, more prosperous, and environmentally resilient urban communities.