Watch the video: Minister Ramokgopa briefs the media on the finalisation of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) (2023)
- South Africa’s Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, held a briefing yesterday providing an update on the finalisation of the 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
- The purpose of the IRP is to provide a roadmap for meeting South Africa’s forecasted electricity demand, which allocates electricity generation technology and capacity plus integrates financial considerations with the country’s climate change commitments, to ensure a secure, sustainable and economically viable energy supply solution.
- The takeaway is that Ramokgopa, unlike his predecessor, is carrying out a thorough think tank which includes all relevant stakeholder inputs, to design a plan that will provide energy security for the country.
Ramokgopa told the media briefing that in terms of the Draft IRP 2023 stakeholder engagements, some 4338 public comments have been received while three rounds of public consultations and at least 26 other virtual and in-person engagements with civil society, industry, academia and government entities took place.
“Of these 4000 plus comments, 136 of these were substantive. There are people who were challenging a number of aspects or making suggestions on how best we can improve this model,” he said.
“Then next step is that we are deepening that conversation. So we are not [re]starting the public consultation…we are going back to those people who made those substantive submissions having done some degree of revision on the back of the submissions that we have received.
“We will have a physical engagement some time next week and we will have the targeted engagements. We will then consolidate those inputs,” he said.
A report emanating from consolidated inputs will then be tabled before Cabinet which will make a final decision on the plan. No firm timeline was provided.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
