The Department of Energy says it will have completed South Africa’s master plan for energy by the end of next year. Government has just released a draft of the Integrated Energy Plan, which is a 20 year strategy to meet the country’s energy demands. Minister of Energy, Ben Martins, has assured parliament that he will drive the process and keep MPs abreast on the plan which will inform a range of other energy policies.The plan, he explains, will affect many government departments. There is one key issue the department cannot afford to get wrong and that is forecasting energy demand which will, in turn, determine how many new power or nuclear plants the country sinks money into. A process of public hearings will kick off in the next few months.