Public to finally have say on energy plan

The government’s long-term energy plan, which has been stuck in the works for six years due to political machinations, is to be published for comment by Friday, energy minister Jeff Radebe said on Tuesday. The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), a 20-year planning tool that models energy demand and supply costs, will end years of uncertainty for independent renewable energy producers as well as for Eskom. It will also provide clarity on the future of nuclear energy in SA, which has been the subject of much controversy and litigation. Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of parliament’s portfolio committee on energy, Rabebe said the IRP “would definitely be gazetted for public comment this week, as there has been a complaint that there has not been sufficient public consultation”. But he said the comment period would be short. The SA Faith Community Environmental Initiative, which in 2017 successfully overturned a ministerial determination to allow the government to commission nuclear ...