Planning commission on Wright track with energy
A 30-YEAR-OLD electrical engineer who is the National Planning Commission’s new point man on energy says he hopes his youth will invigorate the conversation and give impetus to the implementation of the National Development Plan, which was adopted by the Cabinet in 2012.
Energy is among the top challenges for SA and poor planning and a lack of capacity are widely seen as being responsible for holding back economic growth.
The appointment of Jarrad Wright, with work experience of only five years and who is little known in the sector, caused some surprise when the new commissioners were announced last week. Since completing his MSc at Wits University in 2010, Mr Wright worked for engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff for four years before joining Energy Exemplar, which is primarily involved in using energy-modelling software.
Mr Wright says his appointment to the commission came as a complete surprise. He had put himself forward to serve on the advisory council to Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson last year, but had not been selected.
“I think that is where they got my details from,” he says.
Energy Exemplar, where Mr Wright is acting regional manager for Africa, is an Australian-based firm, has patented a software energy-planning tool called Plexos. The software is used mainly to model energy markets, but elements of it are also used by Eskom to model, for example, maintenance
Mr Wright has worked as a consultant to large utilities and regulators in 13 different countries, mostly in Southern Africa, but also in East and West Africa. He is also pursuing his PhD at Wits University, looking at power system markets in Southern Africa.
Sections of the National Development Plan related to energy planning have sat uncomfortably with the Department of Energy’s own long-term planning processes. While the department is strongly in favour of new nuclear capacity, the plan cautioned against a hasty decision and urged a thorough costbenefit analysis.
Mr Wright says he wants to avoid the politics and focus on implementation.
“Being so young, hopefully I can provide a different view and bring some invigorating energy to the conversation,” he says.