The Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has announced an ambitious Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2025 aimed at resolving the country’s long-standing electricity shortfall and jump-starting economic growth.
The IRP 2025 proposes a significant upscaling of energy supply in a new energy mix to meet the country’s energy demand sustainably and cost-effectively.
Government plans to invest R2.2 trillion, which amounts to about 30% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), in a comprehensive energy transformation strategy to ensure the country’s energy demand is met sustainably and cost-effectively. The new IRP was approved by cabinet last week.
At a media briefing on 19 October 2025 Ramokgopa said: “As a result of the lights being off, the South African economy has not been able to grow. Electricity has been a structural constraint to the South African economy.” He said persistent power shortages have stunted economic development and contributed to high unemployment rates.
“However, now that we have turned the corner on load shedding, we are addressing the future. Energy and electricity can be a catalyst for growth,” Ramokgopa said.
The IRP aims to address electricity supply issues, promote economic growth, and create jobs, in line with government’s target of a 3% GDP growth rate by 2030.
“There is no economy that grows if the lights are off. There are no industries that will decide to locate in South Africa if we can’t guarantee them available electricity that is of good quality and affordable.”
The IRP 2025 also introduces a shift in the country’s energy mix, with cleaner energy sources like hydro, nuclear, wind, and solar set to surpass coal for the first time in the nation’s history.
By 2039, government aims to add 105 000 megawatts (MW) of new generation capacity – effectively building Eskom to “two and a half times” its current size (in terms of generation capacity).
This will include 11 270 MW of solar photovoltaics by 2030, 7 340 MW of wind energy, 6 000 MW of gas-to-power, and 5 200 MW of new nuclear capacity.
Minister Ramokgopa highlighted two primary challenges to the rollout of the IRP: limited skills in the energy sector and a decimated construction industry. However, he said government remains committed to transforming South Africa’s energy landscape and creating economic opportunities. He emphasised the plan’s broader ambitions of economic revival and job creation. “We are talking about growth, industrialisation, new skills, and resuscitating collapsed industries,” he said. “And we want to ensure that each household has access to electricity, that electricity is affordable, and we can guarantee it into the future.”
With a greater share of clean energy, the IRP 2025 also supports significant emissions reductions, targeting reductions of 160 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent by 2030, and a further 142 million tonnes by 2035.
The minister also acknowledged that Eskom has already shown improvements in its operations, with the energy availability factor rising from 48% during peak load shedding to around 70% currently, and this provides a strong foundation for the ambitious energy transformation, he said.
SA’s nuclear industrialisation plan
At the same briefing Ramokgopa announced that South Africa is preparing to develop a comprehensive nuclear industrialisation plan that goes beyond the use of nuclear energy purely for electricity. He said the plan will look at the broader potential benefits for the South African economy: what components in the nuclear fuel cycle can we localise, for instance.
Nuclear energy is a big part of the new energy mix outlined in the IRP 2025, which points to 5 200 MW of new nuclear capacity to be built in the country.
Ramokgopa said: “The state will ensure that we are very deliberate, and we are transparent in the way we procure this clean energy technology solution.”
He said the nuclear industrialisation strategy will involve close collaboration with scientists to identify specific opportunities for local manufacturing and economic development. He acknowledged that the country has lost skills – the engineers and scientists that have left the country to work elsewhere. “It’s important that the industrialisation plan answers the questions: where are the skills going to come from, and how are we going to generate the pipeline of skills going into the future?”
The DEE will be collaborating with universities, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, particularly in the fields of engineering related to the built environment and nuclear issues.
The minister said government will also meet with key players in the construction industry to determine how they can increase their capacity to meet the demands of the programme.
“Of course, the assurance they want from us is that we’re not going to start and stop,” he said.
With over 20 countries committing to expanding nuclear energy at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, South Africa sees the development of this sector as a strategic economic opportunity.
Ramokgopa said that plan will include identifying localisable components in the nuclear fuel cycle, exploring small modular reactor (SMR) technologies, developing local industrial capabilities and creating employment opportunities in the nuclear sector.
He noted that globally, around 100 SMR technologies are currently at various stages of feasibility assessment, with potential for significant commercial development. In addition, he said 40 of the world’s top financial institutions have committed to financing nuclear projects, providing additional confidence in the sector’s future.
“We want to develop a nuclear industrialisation plan that creates jobs, builds industries, and supports our broader economic transformation,” the minister said.
For more information visit: www.sanews.gov.za