​Staff writer 
Load shedding is the single biggest constraint on South Africa's economic growth. 
This has devastated critical economic sectors such as manufacturing, hospitality, tourism, mining and agriculture.
To deal with the energy crisis, the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) will host the Energy Expo on 16 February 2023 under the theme "Growing Gauteng Together towards a sustainable energy mix."
The Expo aims to provide a platform for showcasing solutions and technologies that can be incorporated into GPG plans as well as to gain insights into stakeholder energy plans.
In his State of the Nation Address on 9 February 2023, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that government is able and determined to overcome the loadshedding challenges and place our economy on a firm path to recovery. 
The Gauteng government is committed to working with all spheres of government and stakeholders to end load shedding and ensure a stable supply of affordable power. 
The provincial government's strategic intent includes the following:
Ensuring energy security for desirable economic growth.
Ensuring universal, affordable and modern energy to all citizens of the Gauteng City Region.
Diversifying energy sources within the province to include renewables and other forms of energy.
Promoting energy efficiency measures across all sectors of the economy and improving provincial energy governance and administration.
Additionally, the Gauteng government has established the Energy Emergency Council to respond to the worsening electricity supply crisis.
A Technical Team was also established under the leadership of the Acting Director General and Heads of Departments to develop an integrated response plan based on Gauteng's Energy Strategy that was developed in 2016.
The Gauteng Energy Crisis Response Plan aims to develop a sustainable energy mix to reduce the province's reliance on the national grid.
Furthermore, the provincial government is committed to an energy mix that will reduce our reliance on the national grid.
The province has emphasised that introducing variable renewable energy sources presents new technical challenges to the power system beyond balancing the power demand.
This includes flexibility, availability, supply reliability and stability.
For the immediate and short term, using gas for cooking, heating, and solar PV installation should be encouraged as it will go a long way in offsetting demand from the grid.
The Expo targets stakeholders in the energy sectors, small business formations, law enforcement, large energy users and industry associations, national government agencies and international cooperations.
About 50 partner entities have also been invited to exhibit their products and services.