Job creation and development need to be priorities of South Africa's energy-generation plan, Minister of Energy Dipuo Peters said on Thursday.

Workers needed to acquire better skills and not simply be "mixers of concrete" for a more equitable society to be created, Peters said at a meeting in Johannesburg.

Small business had a role to play in creating jobs in the petrol sector, she said.

Most solar water heaters were imported, which was not sustainable.

For this reason, only suppliers who manufactured their goods locally could participate in a government subsidy programme, Peters said.

On energy security, she said South Africa had more than a century's worth of coal stock. This, in conjunction with nuclear, gas and renewable energy sources, meant the country had a comfortable outlook, but the need for energy efficiency and conservation remained.

She appealed to consumers to switch off appliances when they were not in use and to use public transport or fuel-efficient vehicles.

The government was "doing everything possible" to reduce the petrol price, as it needed to be affordable for the poor, she said.