Draft plan on increasing electricity generation capacity out for public comment
The 2023 draft Integrated Resources Plan has received opposing views from an energy expert and the South African National Energy Development Institute that gave it a nod.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe at the 2022 African Energy Week at the V&A Waterfront, in Cape Town on 18 October 2022. Picture: @GwedeMantashe1/Twitter
JOHANNESBURG - The 2023 draft Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) has received the thumbs up from the South African National Energy Development Institute’s Energy Secretariat.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe gazetted the 2023 draft IRP for public comments this week.
It maps out the expansion of generation capacity from 2023 to 2030, in the first instance and from 2031 to 2050, in the second.
It’s been criticised by many, with energy expert Chris Yelland describing it as a “shoddy piece of work, lacking in maturity and depth”.
But Sampson Mamphweli - who heads up the Energy Secretariat at the South African National Energy Development Institute - says it’s a good draft plan.
“In terms of whether the IRP is properly done, our view is that this is a good draft plan for public comment because this document is still going to go through various consultations. One, it’s out for comment on the public domain.
“Secondly, it will then go to NEDLAC [National Economic Development and Labour Council] and then it will go back to Cabinet. Yes, it does paint various pictures which some people seem to think are confusing but, in our view, they are not confusing.”