Government hasn’t changed its position on the Independent Power Producers (IPP) programme, as it is one of the best in the world and has attracted considerable investment from the private sector, said Jeff Radebe, minister in the presidency responsible for planning, monitoring & evaluation, at a media briefing on Monday.
“There is no way that we will change course [on the IPP programme] mid-stream. We’re going ahead,” Radebe said in a response to a request during question time to clarify the government’s position on the matter.
Radebe reiterated energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson’s assertion earlier that renewable energy and IPP projects remain part of South Africa’s energy mix.
Her comments were made following Eskom CEO Brian Molefe’s utterances, questioning the effectiveness of renewables as a panacea to South Africa’s energy requirements as a developing nation.
This comes as Eskom recently refrained from signing any more IPP contracts, after the current round of contracts was finalised.
Radebe said during Monday’s post-cabinet media briefing that the department of energy will complete the long-awaited Integrated Energy Plan and Integrated Resource Plan for electricity by the end of this year that will provide certainty on electricity pricing and investment in the area of electricity generation.