Life After Coal Toolkit: Integrated Resource Plan 2023

The toolkit critiques the draft IRP 2023, arguing that it deviates from 'least cost' energy pathways by favoring fossil fuels over renewables and failing to adequately address air quality, health impacts, and climate commitments. It provides a framework for the public to challenge the DMRE's modelling assumptions, the premature timing of the plan relative to the Integrated Energy Plan and Sectoral Emission Targets, and the lack of transparency in public participation.

• The draft IRP 2023 is criticized for using a 'low system cost' rather than a 'least cost' pathway, which the document claims bakes in assumptions that make certain technologies more expensive and concludes that the renewable energy pathway is the highest cost option.
• The toolkit argues that the IRP 2023 is premature because it precedes the formulation of the Integrated Energy Plan (IEP), scheduled for April 2024, and the Sectoral Emission Targets (SETs) provided for in the Climate Change Bill.
• The draft IRP is accused of compromising climate action by providing for low amounts of state-procured renewable energy and instead proposing extensive gas-to-power capacity as baseload supply.
• The document asserts that the IRP 2023 fails to meaningfully engage with air quality, health impacts, and Minimum Emissions Standards (MES) compliance, treating them as issues that can be disregarded or balanced against supply needs.
• The toolkit claims the IRP 2023 relies on outdated data, specifically regarding Eskom's Generation Capacity Connection Assessment (GCCA) and the decommissioning schedule for coal plants.
• The IRP's projections for the recovery of the coal fleet's Energy Availability Factor (EAF) are described as 'scarcely credible', suggesting a leap from 51% to 67% in two years.
• The document notes that the draft IRP omits Demand Side Management (DSM) and Energy Efficiency (EE) measures, which would otherwise influence supply requirements.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). Life After Coal Toolkit: Integrated Resource Plan 2023. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LAC-IRP-Toolkit-.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. Life After Coal Toolkit: Integrated Resource Plan 2023. n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LAC-IRP-Toolkit-.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=Life After Coal Toolkit: Integrated Resource Plan 2023 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LAC-IRP-Toolkit-.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsndlife, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{Life After Coal Toolkit: Integrated Resource Plan 2023}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/LAC-IRP-Toolkit-.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }