Cabinet approved a draft update of South Africa's energy plan, the Integrated Resources Plan 2023 (IRP 2023), which guides government procurement for new generation capacity.

The plan proposes changes to Eskom's end-of-life power station decommissioning schedule. The IRP 2023 will be released for public comment after cabinet approval.

The previous plan imposed unrealistic schedules for the shutting of existing power generation in order to meet Western demands for the green transition.

The plan, replacing the outdated IRP 2019, addresses the energy crisis by rethinking power station decommissioning schedules in the short term and explores new energy sources and renewable energy exploitation for 2030 to 2050.

The IRP 2019 falls short of meeting the urgent need for electricity, with plans for 29,000MW additional generation capacity by 2030, compared to the required 60GW of renewable generation capacity.

Eskom may extend the shutdown of some coal-fired plants beyond 2030. The cabinet was in agreement with the overall transmission investment plan, emphasizing the need to tap into private sector liquidity to fund the upgrade and expansion of the transmission grid.

Eskom is tasked with building 14,000km of new transmission lines, costing approximately R390bn, over the next eight to 10 years to avert an electricity crisis. The current grid is not equipped to carry the sort of wildly fluctuating power generation the new wind and solar based projects produce.

The transmission investment plan explores options to attract private sector finance for grid expansion without considering privatization of the transmission grid.