The Civil Engineering Contractor February 2018 | Page 7

ON POLICYMAKERS’ DESKS
Energy policy to remain
Portfolio committees are appointed from members of South
Africa’s National Assembly, to provide parliamentary oversight
for the work of government departments.
Chairperson Fikile Majola said, “There has to be clarity about
the general attitude of government with regard to energy policy
so that the public is clear [about] the intentions of government.”
Mahlobo, who became energy minister in a cabinet reshuffle
in October 2017, said reliability and sustainability of energy
supply, as well as social, political, and environmental impacts,
were key factors. “The implementation of the policy has to
give consideration to clean energy sources going into 2025,
when it is expected that the country has cut down its gas
emissions, in line with the climate change commitments that
have been made,” he said.
South African utility Eskom in December 2016 released a
request for information to support the future procurement
of the new nuclear capacity under the existing IRP. However,
The South African High Court in early 2017 ruled ministerial
determinations underpinning the country’s nuclear
procurement plans to be unlawful and unconstitutional. It
also declared the same to be the case for intergovernmental
nuclear cooperation agreements, including those with Russia,
South Korea, and the US, and ruled that they, and the request
for information, must now be set aside.
Source: World Nuclear News
South Africa’s energy policy has not and will not change,
Energy Minister David Mahlobo told the country’s Portfolio
Committee on Energy late last year. He said energy was an
important catalyst and enabler for economic development,
and the country must ensure it uses a diversity of energy
resources.
“We are blessed with uranium that could be extracted and be
put into use to produce nuclear power. We have gas, but not
in abundance. Nuclear energy [has] got to be at a cost that we
could afford. If energy is expensive, it will be an impediment to
growth and stability,” he said.
South Africa’s current Integrated Resource Plan (IRP),
drawn up in 2010, called for the construction of 9 600MWe
of new nuclear capacity over the period to 2030. The
country’s Department of Energy is in the process of updating
the IRP, and in November 2016 issued a draft IRP and
Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) for public consultation. The
2016 draft IRP, under its base case, calls for 1 359MWe
of new nuclear capacity to be built by 2037 and a total of
20 385MWe by 2050.
The IRP guides the government’s plan for electricity provision
within the energy mix, while the IEP aims to guide future
energy infrastructure investments over the period up to 2050,
and identify and recommend policy options to shape the future
energy landscape of the country.
The country’s Department of Energy is in the process of updating the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
CEC February 2018 - 5