The Government says there will be no increase in the use of nuclear energy up until 2030.
Energy Minister Jeff Radebe made the announcement during the release of a report on the draft updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
Radebe says the plan outlines the country’s energy mix given the demand outlook up to 2030.
Increasing electricity prices are threatening to reverse the energy access gains.
Many people are struggling to pay for services and are now reverting back to wood for cooking.
On Friday, Minister Radebe met with the National Economic Development and Labour Council, Nedlac to finalise the integrated resource plan.
“For the year till 2030, there is no plan to increase that. We have said we are going to be seeing in the report post that – there will be detailed technical analysis in order to see how much will be needed post 2030 as the while IRP looks towards the year 2050.”
Radebe says the electricity demand on the grid continues to decline on an annual basis
“We are currently sitting at volumes similar to those of the year 2007, for the financial year ending March 2018, the actual total electricity consumed is about 30% less than what was projected in the IRP 2010.”
The Minister says the document is available for comment within 60 days starting on Monday.
Related video click below:
