22.10.2025
Latest

Concerns over who pays for SA’s R2.2 trillion energy shift

4 mins



  • Energy Minister confident the Integrated Resource Plan 2025 will be approved, even though it will require R2,23 trillion.

Civil society organisation, the Green Connection, has raised concerns over the cost to consumers of government’s recently announced electricity generation plan.

Electricity and Energy Minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, on Sunday announced an ambitious plan to build 105 000 megawatts of new generation capacity by 2039 to the value of R2.2 trillion.

The aim of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is to stabilize the country’s energy supply, attract investment, and promote economic growth.

As part of the IRP, the country will see a shift in its energy mix, with cleaner sources like hydro, nuclear, wind, and solar, reducing the country’s reliance on coal.

“The plan itself is a little bit confusing, claiming emission reduction and affordability, which we both question in terms of the gas-to-power plan as well as nuclear, that was presented. Both of them which is expensive gas – expensive on the climate and on people’s pockets,” says Community Outreach Co-ordinator at the Green Connection, Neville van Rooy.

He says they welcome the renewable energy and storage capacity that will be growing, but there is construction of energy infrastructure, and they do not know who will bear the cost.

VIDEO | South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan 2025:

Related News