Environmental Authorisations: Revised Electricity Transmission Exemption Norms

Posted 16 May 2025 Written by Acts Online
Category Environmental Law

Brought to you by SA Legal Academy: The Department of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment (DFFE) has published revised draft norms intended to exclude the expansion of specific electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure from the requirement to obtain environmental authorisation.

In terms of the National Environmental Management Act, No. 107 of 1998, the revised proposals seek to streamline the regulatory process for energy infrastructure. This draft incorporates stakeholder feedback received following the initial proposals gazetted in April 2024. The primary objective is to facilitate the expansion of the national grid by removing procedural hurdles for projects located in less ecologically sensitive regions.

The proposed exclusion is subject to the following conditions and criteria:

  • The activities must involve the expansion of facilities or infrastructure for the transmission and distribution of electricity.
  • The project site must be verified as being of “low or medium environmental sensitivity” using the national web-based environmental screening tool.
  • Compliance with the specific standards and management requirements set out in the finalised norm will be mandatory in lieu of a full environmental authorisation process.

The Department has called for written comments on the revised draft norm, with a submission deadline of 15 June 2025. Once finalised and in force, these norms will provide a simplified compliance pathway for qualifying electricity infrastructure projects, provided they do not infringe upon high-sensitivity environmental zones.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: No direct individual compliance obligations; however, legal and environmental practitioners must familiarise themselves with the revised screening requirements to advise on project feasibility.
  • For your business: Engineering and environmental consultancy firms may see a shift in workflow from managing full environmental impact assessments to conducting sensitivity verifications and ensuring adherence to the new norms for substation expansions.
  • For your clients: Clients in the energy and utilities sectors may benefit from significantly reduced regulatory lead times and lower compliance costs for grid expansion projects, provided their sites meet the low-to-medium sensitivity threshold.

Originally published at https://legalacademy.co.za/news/read/environmental-authorisations-electricity-transmission-related-exemption-norm-proposals-revised

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