The DA has said it hopes the controversial nuclear power station building programme is dead in the water now that Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson has announced a "delay" in the procurement process.Joemat-Pettersson told the parliamentary portfolio committee on energy that her department had to wait for the Treasury's approval and was consulting the government's independent power producers office before it could gazette requests for proposals.DA MP Gordon Mackay said this could mean that the programme would be stalled indefinitely - especially as the Energy Department was embroiled in a court case with NGO Earthlife Africa, which was questioning the legality of the nuclear plans.Said Mackay: "The DA, which has been calling for the nuclear programme to be abandoned from the outset, welcomes this move as the first step towards its outright cancellation. The minister confirmed that the April 1 deadline was not met and that no new date has been set, signalling that the procurement process is now in limbo."Joemat-Pettersson yesterday told news agency Bloomberg that her department was working with the government's independent power producers office. "This doesn't mean that it is stalled. It might be delayed," she said."I want a thorough and transparent procurement process, subjected to proper scrutiny. The process must not be stalled due to legal process or challenges."Russian company Rossatom is said to be on the inside track for the contract...