Mission
The Energy Office’s mission statement is to transform Durban’s governance, social, development and economic systems in order to effectively mitigate climate change.
History of the Energy Office
The eThekwini Municipal Energy Office (EO) was launched in early 2009 in response to the National Power Conservation Program which set energy saving targets between 10% and 15% across all sectors in South Africa. The EO was the first of its kind in South Africa and set a precedent for local government participation in sustainable energy initiatives.
The Energy Office was set up with seed funding from
DANIDA through the Urban Environmental Management Program (UEMP). The initial focus of the EO was to reduce electricity consumption in municipal infrastructure. Over the 2009/10 period the EO initiated a number of pilot streetlight retrofit projects and various metering interventions.
Parallel to the establishment of the EO, the eThekwini Municipality drafted a municipal
Energy Strategy. The funding for this process was sources through the UEMP. In January 2010, the eThekwini Municipality Council adopted the eThekwini Energy Strategy. This strategy significantly broadened the mandate and responsibility of the EO to promote sustainable energy interventions in the broader eThekwini Municipal area.