Minister’s ‘State will lead, market will follow’ electricity assertion raises questions

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s insistence that the State will lead and the market follow in the procurement of new electricity generation, while simultaneously indicating that any new investment will be “off balance sheet” for government and, thus, funded by the private sector, has raised questions. The Minister made the statement at a briefing held to release details of the updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2025), which he argued set the policy framework and that “everyone will procure according to this policy”. This, while also acknowledging that policy adjustments had been made that resulted in the plan deviating from a least-cost outcome.