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No light on future electricity costs

Cape Town - The department of energy is still studying the relative costs of the different technologies involved in the new build projects envisaged in the 2010 integrated resource plan, said Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson.

Replying to a question by DA MP Alf Lees who asked whether her department had determined the future price path of electricity and necessary price increases that would be required to pay for the proposed new build projects currently contained within the plan, she said the IRP2010 gave an indication of the impact of the different technology choices of the build programme.

“The technologies under IRP2010 include coal, gas, nuclear, imported hydro, renewable and energy efficiency interventions,” she said.

Indicating the pricing of these options was work-in-progress, the minister said: “Further work is being done to update the price path based on a new range of financial parameters, including different discount rates, updated capital and operational costs for the different technologies.

“Once this has been completed, considerations will be had about the necessary price path, to determine what the future tariff increases should be over the medium and long term,” said Joemat-Pettersson.

Asked by Anton Alberts, a Freedom Front Plus MP, how her department intended to bring its project to build nuclear power stations in line with the IRP and how she envisaged the project would be funded, Joemat-Pettersson said: “The department of energy is planning to rollout the nuclear build programme through the development of strategies to address all aspects of the nuclear value chain.”

The nuclear build programme “is aligned to achieve the targets of the cabinet as endorsed by the Integrated Resource Plan 2010-2030, that is to ensure 9.6Gwe of nuclear power into the generation mix. In line with the IRP, the first plan will be commissioned by 2023/2024 and last plant commissioned by 2030”.

Joemat-Pettersson said the financing strategy “that deals with various financing options” is currently at an advanced stage of development by the department of energy, in conjunction with several other key departments such as National Treasury and the Department of Public Enterprises.

She added that she believed the country had sufficient human resources to deal with the existing programme. “However, the department of energy working with ... trade and industry and science and technology, public enterprises has developed a national skills development strategy that is at an advanced stage in order to address any potential future lack of human resources for the nuclear programme,” she said.

 - Fin24

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