“The IRP is a plan to operationalise electricity in South Africa for the short- to medium term.

SALGA said that by introducing self-determined limits to the amount of renewable energy that could be introduced to the energy mix each year, the IRP might worsen existing challenges. These include grid defection (where users are independent of the electricity grid) as well as consumer and municipal debt.

Chair of SALGA’s energy working group, Thami Ngubane, welcomed what he called a major improvement in ‘least cost’ technology choices in the IRP for the year 2018. He said this was a significant improvement from previous versions.

‘Municipalities acknowledge the importance of job protection and retention related to coal-fired power. However, higher costs will have serious ramifications for consumers and the country as a whole’, said Ngubane.”

Click here to access the full article, as sourced from fin24 on 3 December 2018.