Pretoria - Gautengers will today get an opportunity to participate in the public hearings currently underway, into the country's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP2010)
The Department of Energy will hold the last leg of the public hearings today in Midrand. The hearings which started in Durban last week, took place on Monday in Cape Town's BMW Pavilion.
The Integrated Resource Plan is a 20-year-electricity capacity plan for South Africa. It aims to provide an indication of the country's electricity demand; how this demand will be supplied and what it will cost.
Rolling blackouts are anticipated in the country from 2011 to 2016, unless extraordinary steps are taken to accelerate the realisation of non-Eskom generation and energy-efficiency projects.
The plan aims to achieve a balance between an affordable price for electricity to support a globally competitive economy and a move to a more sustainable and efficient economy that creates jobs, taking into account appropriate carbon emission targets in line with global commitments.
According to the IRP2010, the country requires 52248 MW of new capacity in order to meet the projected demand and provide adequate reserves.
The purpose of the hearings is to create a platform where the public interacts with the department's senior officials and energy stakeholders on the IRP processes as well as to encourage active participation on energy issues by the Gauteng community.
Director General Nelisiwe Magubane, deputy director-general for electricity, nuclear and clean energy Ompi Aphane and other energy stakeholders are some of the speakers scheduled for Thursday's hearings.
Earlier this week, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters encouraged interested parties, both organised groups and individuals to continue to actively participate in this process in order to ensure a transparent and informed IRP2010 which includes all the views across the sector.
The public hearing process and the extension of the deadline for written submissions, the minister said, re-affirms government's commitment to a transparent and open consultative process.
"As we move closer to the deadline of 10 December 2010 for the inputs, I further urge all South Africans, private sector, investors, labour and community structures to utilise this space and contribute positively to strengthen this process," Peters said.
