The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has announced new dates for public hearings regarding its concurrence with three Ministerial determinations opening the way for the procurement of 18 771 MW of new electricity capacity, having initially cancelled hearings scheduled for this week, owing to a lack of response.

In a notice issued on October 13, Nersa announced that the time for public comment regarding its concurrence with the determinations had been extended and invited stakeholders to attend rescheduled virtual hearings on October 20 and 21, between 13:00 and 17:00 on both days.

Members of the public and stakeholders wishing to attend or present their views were requested to notify Nersa by October 19.

The fact that no stakeholders had approached the regulator to make input on the determinations came as a surprise, given that some questions had been raised recently about a determination for 3 000 MW of gas-to-power.

Initially, Nersa said that the 3 000 MW was based on an allocation for gas/diesel generation outlined in Table 5 of the Integrated Resource Plan of 2019, or IRP2019.

It later circulated an erratum on September 12 clarifying that the 3 000 MW arose from an Eskom application to deviate from the IRP2019 for a combined cycle gas power plant at Richards Bay, in KwaZulu-Natal.

It was anticipated that this deviation request would attract stakeholder comment, particularly given that some environmental groups had approached the Gauteng High Court recently to have the environmental authorisation for the project reviewed and set aside.

In a judgment delivered on October 6, Judge Anthony Miller dismissed an application for the granting of the environmental authorisation to be reviewed and set aside.

However, he ordered that a copy of the authorisation and the conditions attached, which had been published in English, be translated into isiZulu and published in at least two newspapers that circulated widely in the Richards Bay area of KwaZulu-Natal.

The other two determinations delivered to Nersa in August by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe are for 14 771 MW of wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) generation allocated for in the IRP2019, but not yet catered for in an existing Ministerial determination for wind and solar PV, and 1 000 MW of ‘Other Distributed Generation, Co-Gen, Biomass, Landfill’ capacity for 2023 and 2024 also outlined in Table 5 of the IRP2019.

In confirming the extension for comment, Nersa cautioned that should it not receive any requests to present at the advertised public hearing by the closing date of this notice, it “retains the right not to hold the scheduled hearing”.