Cape Town – Gas contribution to future electricity output in South Africa could increase, Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said on Tuesday.
Joemat-Pettersson said the independent power producer (IPP) programme to deliver 3 126 MW of gas-fired power generation between 2019 to 2025 will “maybe increase; I am not saying it will increase, but maybe".
“I need baseload electricity and gas will be a cornerstone of that baseload,” she told stakeholders in the gas industry in Cape Town.
The minister said that, contrary to belief, she is not obsessed with nuclear energy. “I am obsessed with gas by the way,” she told delegates at the Gas Options meeting.
“We need to grow the economy without putting pressure on fiscus and this refers to nuclear (energy) too,” said Joemat-Pettersson.
“There is no R1trn,” she said, referring to reports this year that South Africa’s nuclear build programme would cost the country over R1trn.
“We need the option with the least regrets,” she said.
Joemat-Pettersson said the Department of Energy had “received good proposals from the first round” for gas IPPs.
“There are very tight timeframes for these proposals,” she said. “(The reason) why have I condensed timelines is because we have run out of time.
“Our next generation will judge us on the decisions we make today.”
The Gas Options meeting brings together stakeholders in the gas industry with the Energy Department's IPP office, which is presenting a timeline of actions and exploring the commercial opportunities in developing gas-to-power infrastructure projects.