According to Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, South Africa intends to increase its nuclear capacity to solve its electricity-related issues.
The government will construct a nuclear plant for the production of power at “a scale and speed that we can afford,” the minister said in remarks to the media on the margins of the Cabinet Lekgotla, which was held in Tshwane over the weekend, according to the SA news agency.
Long-term baseload anchoring is necessary, and nuclear power plays a significant role in that intervention. We are developing the framework for procurement because we do not want an opaque procurement procedure to undermine the process. We’ll go at the pace and scope that our nation can afford,” he said.
“It is very difficult for the impoverished and residents of the townships to pay the rise in power prices. He expressed worries about the power issues poorer areas face, saying, “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 difficulties with distribution…. we are aware that municipalities have been underinvesting in the upkeep, resupply, and security of the distribution system over years, for which we are already paying a high price,” the minister said.
To solve the nation’s ongoing energy crisis, President Cyril Ramaphosa established a new cabinet post in March 2023 and appointed Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as Minister of Electricity and Energy.
This achievement is attributed to the recovery plan, which was started in March 2023, and the “aggressive” maintenance of the company’s power plants.