Nuclear proposal delay expected
SCIENCE and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor on Tuesday cast confusion over SA’s planned nuclear procurement when she told journalists the request for proposals (RFP) would not be issued on Friday.
At a briefing by government’s cluster of economic ministers led by Pandor in Pretoria, she said that she was “almost certain” that Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson would not be able to publish the request for proposals on September 30. Early in September, JoematPettersson promised Parliament the request for proposals would be issued by Friday.
But Pandor said the cluster, which meets in a Cabinet committee fortnightly, was set to discuss the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) at its next meeting, a step which had to be completed first before moving onto the nuclear procurement.
“Once we have processed what is proposed (in the IRP) as a cluster we would then take that to the formal Cabinet process. Once this has been done, we will share the decisions and documents with the public.
“I am not certain … that we would be able to proceed with a call for proposals immediately this week. This was not my understanding from what was said and I think it is important for us to have agreed on the IRP at a minimum before we proceed.
“I cannot comment on what minister Joemat-Pettersson is planning for Friday, but I am almost certain that she wouldn’t be able to publish the RFP on that date. Let us wait and see,” she said.
Her comments caused confusion among journalists and Department of Energy officials present at the briefing. Departmental spokeswoman Thandi Maimane had earlier said in the briefing that the request for proposals would be issued soon. Maimane then said she would verify the statement. Contacted later, she said she had nothing to add.
Pandor’s statement was surprising. While energy experts and government critics have vociferously protested that the nuclear procurement should not go ahead without an updated IRP, Cabinet has displayed no such qualms. In December 2015, it took a decision to proceed with the request for proposals on the grounds of the 2010 IRP, which at the time was five years out of date.
The plan contains long-term projections of demand, estimates pricing and decides on the energy or technology mix. While energy planners have been commissioned to update the plan (government policy is to update it every two years) the new version has run aground, as planners and departmental officials have disagreed, particularly over the relative cost of renewable versus nuclear technology.
There are also are strong legal grounds for completing the updated
I am not certain … we would be able to proceed with a call for proposals this week
plan ahead of the nuclear procurement. The process already faces a court challenge by Earthlife Africa and the SA Faith Communities Environmental Initiative on procedural grounds. One of the issues at stake is whether there has been sufficient public consultation over nuclear energy. The IRP usually involves a public participation process.
In the past week, there has been a flurry of activity by the department around the IRP with a new determination that it should be completed by December. Joemat-Pettersson has asked her advisory panel to facilitate the finalisation of the plan.
There are also other legal concerns around the nuclear procurement that have not been fully dealt with. One problem is that the determination — a gazetted statement by the minister that must precede a procurement process — may need to be redone. At present, the department has relied on a determination that was prepared by the previous energy minister, Ben Martins, two years previously. It was gazette by Joemat-Pettersson over the December holidays.