MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

Energy Crisis – Top Dogs Weigh in on ‘Solutions’

By

President Cyril Ramaphosa says resolving the energy crisis is critical to ensure that the economic and investment potential of the country is realised.

This as South Africa was plunged into Stage 6 load shedding for the second time this year, prompting the President’s urgent return to the country during an international trip.

Households have had to deal with bouts of up to four hours of load shedding at least twice a day since Sunday morning, with load shedding slightly eased to Stage 5 by Tuesday morning.

“Solving the electricity crisis is necessary if we are to realise the potential of our economy. In 2018, we launched an ambitious investment drive to raise R1.2 trillion in new investments over five years. To date, and with still a year to go, we have raised more than 90% of that amount in commitments from both domestic and foreign investors.

“Of these commitments, around R330 billion has already flowed into the economy, opening new factories, expanding production lines and creating new jobs,” the President said in his weekly newsletter.

The President said the current power crisis is a reminder of “how unstable our ageing power stations are” and the need for greater urgency to implement the measures he announced in July to bring stability to the grid.

“On Sunday, I held an urgent virtual meeting with Ministers and officials on the reasons for the current load shedding, and the steps being taken to reduce the severity and frequency of load shedding in the coming days and weeks. Eskom has already announced some of the measures it is taking and we will remain seized with this issue until the situation is resolved,” he said.

Following his visit to Washington last week, where discussions were held with US President Joe Biden, President Ramaphosa said these international visits and discussions may not have the desired impact on attracting trade and investment to the country if load shedding persists.

“The visits we undertake to various countries, be they working visits, State visits or trade missions, are crucial for promoting investment and trade. They bring in investment and they create jobs. They also improve our relations with the countries we visit, thus creating great opportunities for our country.

“Building strong partnerships with other countries is important, but it is not enough. That is why we are working to make our economy more competitive, more efficient and more attractive to both international and local companies. First and foremost, we have to overcome the electricity crisis,” he said.

The President emphasised that despite the country’s current challenges, foreign direct investment from companies all over the world is proof that there is “a great future for companies that do business in South Africa”.

“The recent launches of new investments and expansion projects by Ford, Anglo American, Metair Investments, Corobrik, Consol Glass, Isuzu, Sappi, Google, Netflix, Sandvik and others show that both domestic and foreign investors see South Africa as a favourable place to invest and to do business.

“These companies recognise the progress we are making in several areas of reform, such as telecommunications, energy, water provision, freight rail and ports. The Presidency is working with several departments and other partners on cutting red tape in critical regulatory processes,” he said.

Programmes launched to procure power for grid

Eskom has launched three programmes to procure more power for the grid, as part of its measures to address the country’s power generation shortfall and mitigate load shedding.

The power utility was granted the green light to procure at least 1 000MW of energy to add onto the grid following the load shedding crisis over the past three months.

“Initially, the programmes will focus on generators capable of supplying more than one megawatt to the grid. Over time, the threshold will be lowered to enable smaller producers to participate.

“The aim is to sign the first power supply agreement during the course of the current week, and for the power to start flowing through the grid as soon as possible,” Eskom said.

The three programmes are the Standard Offer Programme, the Emergency Generator Programme and the Bilateral Power Import Programme.

“The Standard Offer approach allows Eskom to purchase electricity at an established price, calculated at the avoided cost of own generation, including long-term energy purchases from Independent Power Producers.

“The Emergency Generator Programme [is] to procure more expensive power during periods when the grid is significantly constrained. The programme allows for independent generators to provide energy daily to compete with Eskom generators in the internal market.

“The Bilateral Power Import Programme [is] to secure imports of power to the country from neighbouring countries. Several countries have expressed an interest in selling additional surplus power to South Africa. The programme will provide a mechanism to access such opportunities,” Eskom said.

Meanwhile, load shedding has been eased to Stage 5 following the return to service of at least four generation units.

“A unit each at Camden, Kriel, Kusile and Kendal [power stations] were returned but unfortunately [we] had to take off a unit at Duvha, which developed a boiler tube leak. Planned outages are at 5 411MW and breakdowns currently amount to 16 326MW,” Eskom said.

Teams mobilised to resolve load shedding – Gordhan

Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan, says the department has mobilised full resources with Eskom to ensure that the current load shedding crisis is resolved.

The power utility has been battling breakdowns and slow returns to service of generation units, which has led to the country being plunged to Stage 6 load shedding.

This has now been reduced to Stage 5 following the return to service of some units.

“We are deeply mindful of the strain that this places on households and businesses in the country. We are alive to the fact that load shedding impacts on households [and] businesses, and disrupts the daily lives of South Africans.

“We have mobilised the full resources of our teams, together with Eskom, to address this immediate challenge of load shedding. All efforts are directed towards returning megawatts due to unplanned breakdowns and outages,” Gordhan said.

He explained that the department has met with Eskom to implement immediate solutions to “ensure the current generation fleet provides reliable electricity to the country”.

These efforts include:

  • The approval of the emergency procurement of 1 000 MW from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and industrial co-generators, which could bring more capacity onto the grid within two months.
  • Eskom has been granted approval to procure an extra 200MW from the Southern African Power Pool.
  • Ensuring reliable maintenance of power stations and plants through the recruitment of former experienced employees and energy experts.
  • Some 18 energy specialists in power plant operations have been brought in to assist with operations.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has, through the work of the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM), initiated Bid Windows 5 and 6 to bring more megawatts to the grid.

According to Gordhan, NECOM has already initiated visits to power stations in order to gauge and asses the challenges Eskom is facing and identify solutions.

“This information will further assist the implementation of the energy actions, as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in July 2022, and the work of the energy crisis committee is already at an advanced stage.” – SAnews.gov.za

Go On – Share the Gqeberha Love!

Views Since 15 July 2022: 34

Gqeberha’s Latest News and Events can be accessed on MyGqeberha.com.

The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profileMy Flickr profileMy Pinterest profile

Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.