NUCLEAR FALLOUT
Cost of Eskom folly is R100bn more a year
Decisions taken today could burden SA with crippling costs, writes Eddie O’Connor
The publication of the government’s revised Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) shows that SA faces two energy paths. One is dominated by new coal and new nuclear, and the other – as foreseen by the IRP – is led by new renewable energy and new gas plants. A report published by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Energy Centre, SA’s premier research institution, has put a value on these two different pathways. From 2040, when all these new plants are forecast to be built, the coal and nuclear option will cost the country R100bn a year, every year, more than the renewables and gas options. Imagine what a future government could do with R100bn a year to invest in education, healthcare or job creation. Decisions taken today could burden SA with crippling costs. That is why many companies are arguing for an electricity model that is fit for the future; one based on democratisation, decentralisation and division of Eskom’s generation and grid businesses. SA is blessed wit...
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