The Portfolio Committee on Energy held a meeting earlier this week where it made the future of nuclear energy in South Africa  quite clear.

Briefing his counterparts from  the Norwegian Standing Committee on Energy and Environmental Affairs, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee Fikile Majola provided an overview of South Africa’s energy situation.

Majola acknowledged that the country is dealing with load shedding. “There is an important debate happening, but from where we sit as an energy Committee the most pressing issue for us is that we are running short of electricity leading to load shedding,” he said.

“That’s the pressing national issue that we need to focus on now and see how we can generate more sources of power as matter of extreme urgency. In the next 18 months that’s what we will be battling with,” Majola said.

In his outline of the current status of energy in the country, Majola said one controversy in South Africa, as it is in the rest of the world, is the issue of nuclear energy.

“There is a big debate around nuclear in the country on issues relating to financing, security in the future and the experiences of other countries. In so far as government is concerned, there is a policy decision,” Majola said.

“We have taken a decision as government that there is going to be nuclear energy and it is part of the energy mix,” he added

Comments from the Norwegian delegation

Comments from the Norwegian delegation centred on how the country planned to meet its immediate challenges in the energy sector. The Norwegian Committee said that load shedding is not expected in a country like South Africa.

The Committee questioned the role energy efficiency plays in the debate and said producing more electricity is one way of dealing with the challenge, but another way is to decrease demand by placing higher prices on energy through the implementation of an energy efficiency plan.

In addition, the Committee commented on South Africa’s high carbon emissions and asked about its plans to reduce this.

South African Committee member Lance Greyling responded to questions from the Norwegian Committee about the economic structure of the country’s electricity by saying:

“One of the reasons we are in the current mess is because of the structure of the industry. The public utility Eskom controls 95% of generation and owns and operates the entire system accounting for 48% distribution and the rest goes to municipalities,” he said. “You have a controlled system without any market dynamics.”