Fix IRP 2023 – or face court docket:

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has slammed The Draft Constructed-in Handy resource Opinion 2023 (IRP 2023) as “sloppy, unsuitable, old-long-established”. OUTA’s CEO Wayne Duvenage says it is so “insufficient that it makes a mockery of the final public engagement job”. He warns that whether it is far not torn up and redone properly, OUTA will mosey to court docket. “We need our authorities to the truth is beginning applying the calls for in phrases of what is in the most productive interests of this country, of trade, of the financial system and its other folks and the buyers. And so that they’re no longer demonstrating that. So what we imagine will happen going forward is in the occasion that they don’t express that on this particular subject, then they’ll be hauled off to court docket.”

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Edited transcript of the interview ___STEADY_PAYWALL___

Chris Steyn (00:02.67)

South Africa’s draft Constructed-in Handy resource Opinion can also calm be torn up. So says Wayne Duvenhage of OUTA. Welcome Wayne.

Wayne Duvenage – OUTA (00:11.278)

Hi Chris, nice to be with you.

Chris Steyn (00:13.026)

What’s substandard with it?

Wayne Duvenage – OUTA (00:16.75)

Well, before every little thing, it’s a foremost file. If we’re going to devise for our energy security, we would like to enact so very constructively and with assumptions that fabricate sense and with a model that can be accessed by civil society, by others who are peril planners in the set specialists. So we can fabricate head or tail of what their agenda is. And in most cases there is an agenda…the first one was once set out in 2011, and it is far a file that, if done correctly, does back the country thought for its energy security properly into the long term, because you don’t honest correct abolish, rob 10 years to abolish a nuclear plant and uncover 10 years later, in actuality, we didn’t need this or it’s too costly. Or no longer it is far a must-can compile to be taking a compile a look at traits, you might per chance per chance per chance per chance can compile to be doing some…you might per chance per chance per chance per chance’t the truth is thunder appropriate assumptions and forecasting because forecasting is forecasting. Nonetheless you ought to the truth is apply your mind and set in rather intricate and complicated modelling into these systems. And it goes honest correct down to the set the grid is, the set it isn’t as properly. It’s most likely you’ll per chance thunder, properly, this is what we would like in energy and thunder, however if you don’t compile a grid, then which you can compile to ship the grid in. And all these charges are charges that you just and I the truth is compile to receive. So what is substandard with IRP23? Right here is the draft one which, before every little thing, our frustration with the authorities, the Department of Minerals, Resources and Vitality, takes two years to in discovering this file out. The excellent one we did was once 2019. These can also calm be up to this point on the least every two years since the landscape is changing the full time. And so that they’ll need to compile public consultation and meaningful public consultation, no longer honest correct a transient tick-box train we’ve consulted with the society.

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Wayne Duvenage – OUTA (02:13.39)

The excellent one which was once done, there had been road reveals. They invited other folks into the room to discuss about, to listen to the authorities’s thought, and to answer to questions. They didn’t enact that properly, no longer tremendously this time around. And so what occurred is they at excellent obtained this file together after us and civil society asserting, the set is the up to this point IRP? Two years later, they in discovering it out and additionally they give us a month to express on it, or it’s five, six weeks.

Wayne Duvenage – OUTA (02:41.964)

It comes out on the 4th of January, and additionally they thunder, give us your feedback sometime in the heart of February. That’s unacceptable. Right here is a complex file. So when we did whinge, plenty of organisations and civil society, they extended that to, I judge, the Twenty third of March, one other month. It’s calm no longer satisfactory time. Nonetheless, we’ve made the most productive of this time. We’ve obtained our consultants and analysts in with us and started to unpack exactly what’s taking place here.

And the first file needed to be modified a puny because they had some serious omissions, however it surely is calm very, very broken-down. The lengthy and wanting it is far that it is far lacking replacement files that is required. The assumptions are out of date, specifically charges regarding original technology, the traits and pricing fashions that expose to the costs of original renewables and battery storage are in actuality out of line. They’re no longer correct with most modern pricing fashions and with projected pricing fashions the set every little thing is pointing to these charges taking place. And take into accout, it’s important that the targets, one in every of the targets that desires to be met is that this is affordable to South Africa. So the costs are very, foremost. It’s most likely you’ll per chance’t honest correct mosey in and thunder, properly, we’re going to set in one thing cherish Karpowerships and preserve the country ransom for Twenty years to the liquid pure gasoline charges and the Rand replace rate when it honest correct becomes unaffordable and could’t come up with the cash for it as an financial system. So you ought to apply charges, you ought to glance at energy security of energy, and you ought to be certain that we beginning coming into into the clean energy set. And what is that demand into the long term? And that’s the set we found the most modern file wanting in a complete lot of regards. It furthermore doesn’t appear to compile taken into tale the inner most sector’s compile energy fashion. And it calm involves Karpowerships, as an instance…It’s obtained fastened gasoline costs. It’s ludicrous given the most modern peril is taking half in out in currency replace and global costs of gasoline. To this point too many flaws in the paperwork. What we’re asserting not at the moment is absolutely this is ready a public engagement job on a file that is so inaccurate, the assumption isn’t any longer sure, no longer appropriate, too powerful lacking in transparency in some areas. Can you fix these considerations which now we compile got – and no longer handiest ourselves, Meridian Economics, the truth is specialists in the set as properly, compile set out a huge response to the IRP 2023. Demand at those responses, glance at our responses and other civil society input. Fix this are expecting for a public express file now and let’s beginning over again since the most modern one is barely correct a huge number.

Chris Steyn (05:52.75)

So moreover it being out of date, it furthermore contained a lengthy checklist of errors and omissions. What were the most bright errors in that file, Wayne?

Wayne Duvenage – OUTA (06:01.974)

Well, it is far all around the costs that they’ve assigned to renewables going forward into the long term. It’s far this belief that, you know, the most modern decommissioning thought of ESKOM’s coal-powered immediate is what it is far. We imagine it desires to be reviewed and per chance immediate-tracked in the set of declining charges in renewables and replacement suggestions to in discovering us to our targets of low emissions a lot sooner. So one doesn’t honest correct rob the given thought as the given thought on decommissioning, one desires to glance at how you might per chance per chance per chance per chance train original technology and immediate observe some of those plans. As I acknowledged, Karpowerships are calm there. And there’s one other ingredient that they set on this thought that claims, you know, the draft  IRP is calm subjected to protection adjustments.

Now, what is going to we point out by that? Well, this is the set politics starts to intervene. Or what are we talking about? Because if you’re going to be opaque or restful on what you point out by protection adjustments, then how will we give input on that? Because those protection adjustments could give upward push to a actually various excellent energy thought. So we would like to realize what those protection adjustments. And so that’s one in every of the things we’re furthermore asking for.

And then over again, nuclear charges seem like very low when put next to files that is available in from other planners and specialists in the set that thunder that the payment isn’t any longer as puny as what is made out to be in the IRP. And even beneath most modern nuclear building all around the realm, we’re no longer in opposition to nuclear in any appreciate. We’re in opposition to uncomfortable choices and dear choices that are no longer in the most productive curiosity of…

So we would like to compile clarity on all of these issues … .Let’s remember, protection adjustments could thunder, glance, we from a job introduction point of understanding, we’re no longer going to decommission. We’re going to repurpose and reinvest in coal energy in sure areas of the country. Now, needless to relate, we’ve obtained to rob employment challenges into tale, however if that’s a protection option, we would like to know what that is so that the costs of that are factored in. The desulfurization that desires to happen on heaps of these, if truth be told, with reference to all of our coal -fired vitality stations needs to be taken into tale because it starts to electrify on our global commitments and other agreements that play out in the lengthy term and their charges to those as properly. So, yeah, we would like absolute clarity on what we point out by protection adjustments.

Chris Steyn (08:00.75)

So if there had been protection adjustments that can also very properly overrule public participation, can also it no longer?

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Chris Steyn (08:52.55)

Now, how efficient is public participation for the time being? I point out, we’ve seen on every other bills that public conception was once neglected to a mountainous extent.

Wayne Duvenage – OUTA (09:12.29)

Yeah, it’s a legit demand, Chris, because we’ve seen this time and time over again, honest correct back to the ethyl days when we started public engagement moderately continually with the authorities as a tick-box train. So, moderately continually, and we behold it on this IRP 2023, the authorized pointers and the principles thunder that public engagement desires to be on the least X days, 30 days, moderately continually it is far. And it doesn’t thunder that’s what it would also calm be. It honest correct says on the least and 9 instances out of 10 the authorities applies the minimum. Even on complex issues cherish this, they apply the minimum. And when there’s an outrage, they’ll lengthen it a puny of. This requires on the least three to four months of public engagement and meaningful public engagement. That’s one other ingredient that we might per chance like in an effort to add in. Public engagement desires to be meaningful. That’s in the Constitution. It can no longer honest correct be a tick box train. So when we obtained fascinated by the full R2 subject, they had public engagement classes all around the country. We went to a bunch of those. The overall public that were invited and that were there, were the truth is there for the drinks and the snacks and no longer to listen to what the right considerations were. Of us were lacking, substantial trade avid gamers and those that this R2 subject was once going to electrify weren’t essentially in the room at these public engagement classes. And so what we desire the authorities to beginning doing far more meaningfully around public eng agement, is to purpose public engagement in a fashion that you just attract and in discovering the avid gamers, the role avid gamers, the stakeholders into the room and no longer honest correct thunder, properly, here it is far, fabricate your submission. We don’t continually know the blueprint many submissions they in discovering. And we moderately continually don’t know whether or not they’ve applied their minds to the problems that are raised in those submissions from the final public and from the a mountainous collection of specialists that give input. And so it appears to us that we’re losing our time, that this is barely correct a tick-box train and the authorities is going to relate, sure, thanks to your submissions. We took survey of them and we’re going forward regardless. So we’ve made a pair of adjustments. They don’t continually reach back and thunder, these are the principle considerations that we grouped. Right here is how we’ll adjust this technique, whatever it is far, in accordance to these concerns. We don’t in discovering that form of suggestions on most of, if truth be told, with reference to all the final public engagement processes with our authorities.

Chris Steyn (11:47.438)

That’s why every other folks are losing faith in the final public engagement job. They judge it’s a destroy of time.

Wayne Duvenage – OUTA (11:50.734)

Yeah, and we can’t lose faith. We’d moderately set stress on the authorities to change it and to enact it meaningfully. And that’s the set the rule of regulations comes into play. And we’ve seen this play out in a bunch of court docket challenges that we’ve introduced, the set now we compile got proven the courts that public engagement was once no longer meaningful. It was once a tick-box train and the judges and the courts are being attentive to that. And if you might per chance per chance per chance per chance express to the courts, if you yelp these substantial issues in court docket, that the authorities has no longer been meaningful around its public engagement, then you in discovering favourable court docket rulings. And that’s why it’s important for us to train the rule of regulations to express the authorities that they must enact this properly.

Chris Steyn (12:35.278)

Now, what does the thought because it for the time being stands, bode the manner forward for electrical energy present in South Africa?

Wayne Duvenage – OUTA (12:42.35)

Well, because it stands now, we would like to, the deadline will be reached next week on the IRP 2023. They’ll confidently wade thru the submissions and confidently they’ll rob cognisance of the extent of and the veracity of the complaints that are coming at them. And we all know that because we have interaction with many energy specialists.

Wayne Duvenage – OUTA (13:08.268)

And we can behold that there’s a substantial pushback on this IRP. So we desire the authorities to enact it properly. If they mosey forward and forge forward and we can behold that they’ve no longer applied their minds to practically all these issues, then I will guarantee you that subject will be challenged in court docket. So the message to the authorities is barely correct rob this input severely. Let’s fix this IRP. We’re no longer asserting we don’t need an IRP. We want a legit IRP. Let’s fix it, redo it, rob tale of the complaints that you just’ve obtained and the constructive criticism, and let’s work with you as a authorities to be certain that we in discovering the most bright energy wants for the manner forward for this country and at most productive payment to society because we not at the moment pay for it. And in the occasion that they must saunter forward and set out a are expecting for proposals on 2 ,500 megawatts of nuclear energy, sooner than we in actuality know if we would love it in the IRP, then that’s the form of behaviour that we’ve furthermore obtained to cease. So we would like our authorities to the truth is beginning applying the calls for in phrases of what is in the most productive interests of this country, of trade, of the financial system and its other folks and the buyers. And so that they’re no longer demonstrating that. So what we imagine will happen going forward is in the occasion that they don’t express that on this particular subject, then they’ll be hauled off to court docket.

Chris Steyn (14:28.418)

Thanks. That was once Wayne Duvenhage of OUTA talking to BizNews about the draft Constructed-in Handy resource Opinion, which he believes can also calm be torn up and redone. Thanks, Wayne. I’m Chris Steyn

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