Cape Town – Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has announced South Africa’s plan to build a nuclear plant for electricity generation at an affordable scale and speed.
Speaking at the Cabinet Lekgotla in Tshwane, Ramokgopa emphasised the need to anchor the baseload with nuclear energy through a transparent procurement process.
“In the long term, we need to ensure that we anchor the baseload and nuclear is an important part of that intervention. We are working on the framework for procurement because we don’t want to discredit the process through a procurement process that is not transparent.
Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says South Africa will seek to build a nuclear plant for electricity generation at “a scale and speed that we can afford”.#Cabinetlekgotlahttps://t.co/1bmNwQp3Oo pic.twitter.com/zBLuRTa2AD
— @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) July 14, 2024
“We will do it at the scale and speed that we can afford as a country,” Ramokgopa said.
The minister also expressed concern over the rising electricity costs burdening poorer communities due to underinvestment in the distribution grid.
“The poor and those that are located in the townships are finding it exceptionally difficult to afford the increases in electricity. The pricing and the tariff is prohibitive and a lot of our people across the length and breadth of the country are not in a position to afford electricity.
“Those are challenges on the distribution side…and we know that over a period of time municipalities have underinvested in the maintenance, replenishment and protection of the distribution grid and of course we are paying the price now,” he said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
