President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe intend opposing a legal challenge against them over energy planning.

In January, two civil society organisations – Green Connection and the Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute (SAFCEI) – filed an application to seek the development of the Integrated Energy Plan (IEP). They believe that the delayed enforcement of the plan is behind the country's power crisis.

Ramaphosa is in charge of bringing into operation section six of the National Energy Act – which will enable the development of the IEP by Mantashe. The IEP is then supposed to be reviewed on an annual basis.

Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson for the Presidency and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, confirmed to News24 that the legal challenge would be opposed.

"The applicants also seek an order to compel the minister and the president to bring section six into force within three months. Since the department has now instructed its legal representatives to oppose the matter, the minister will respond to the allegations contained and relief sought in the application in the course of the litigation," the DMRE said in response to questions from News24.

The civil society organisations noted that section six of the National Energy Act was passed by Parliament in 2008. But it had not been brought into operation by the president. As a result, decision-makers had been carrying out energy planning without the "proper legal framework", they said in a joint statement.

"Lack of effective energy planning is the reason we are in this mess, and as long as we continue without a plan for meeting our energy requirements, for dealing with load shedding and unaffordable electricity prices, increases will continue.

"A clear plan will make sure that when new energy is being procured that it is affordable, environmentally friendly and easily accessible and be a part of a just energy transition. This would be for the benefit of everyone," said SAFCEI executive director Francesca de Gasparis.

"It is very astonishing that in this time of crisis that both the energy minister and the president have opted to oppose our call to have an Integrated Energy Plan. In our view, the message they are sending is that they do not want any legally binding, mandatory energy planning to help prevent that we end up in such a crisis in the future," said the Green Connection's strategic lead, Liziwe McDaid.

The government has since declared a national state of disaster over the energy crisis, with the aim of ensuring load shedding does not progress to a total blackout, News24 previously reported.

"Where technically possible, it will enable us to exempt critical infrastructure such as hospitals and water treatment plants from load shedding," Ramaphosa said during his state of the nation address earlier in February.

The state of disaster would also allow the government to accelerate energy projects while limiting regulatory requirements. But Ramaphosa assured that "rigorous" environmental protections, procurement principles and technical standards would still be upheld.