The South African government’s decision to press ahead with the release of a request for proposals from nuclear vendors is likely to face social and political fallout. This is particularly so, as the tender is being released at a time when demand is flat to falling and given that there appears to be a number of other lower-cost alternatives. At the time of publication, there had also been no sign of the new Integrated Resource Plan for electricity, with the 9 600 MW nuclear procurement based on the outdated 2010 version.