The City of Cape Town is preparing to take legal action against the energy minister over where it receives its electricity supply from, mayor Patricia de Lille said on Tuesday.

The city would fight for its right to purchase renewable energy directly from independent power producers (IPP), she told a Cape Town Climate Change Coalition meeting.

“We are doing this not just because we want to buy electricity from IPPs, but because we believe that the whole institutional regime governing energy in the country is completely outdated and needs to be reformed.”

The coalition consists of the private sector, governmental and non-governmental organisations, researchers and educators.

De Lille said the city council would soon adopt a draft climate change policy.

"It has been recognised that climate change is such an important, cross-cutting, and consequential issue that it requires its own dedicated policy approach," she said.

The city intended to generate 20% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020.

Quoting former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, De Lille said the city could not wait for national governments or large corporations to act.

“Bloomberg says we can do this not by slowing down economies, but by speeding them up; not by depending on national governments, but by empowering cities, businesses and citizens; not by scaring people about the future, but by showing them the immediate benefits of taking action,” De Lille said.

“We are responsible for the growth and wellbeing of our local economies and our citizens.”