Eskom is now playing catch-up after five years in which it built no power stations.
This stasis derived from the government’s earlier intention that a competitor to Eskom should emerge that would develop new power infrastructure. Although Eskom does not have exclusive power-generation rights, it has a monopoly on the bulk of the country’s electricity transmission system, supplying electricity directly to large consumers such as mines and industries.
‘The origins of South Africa’s power problems go back to decisions by government to encourage competition in the power industry,” says Kevin Bennett, director of the Energy Research Centre. ‘For some time Eskom was told that it would not build the next power station. After a while, it was clear that no other companies were interested in entering the market and Eskom was given approval to initiate its build programme. ‘We are now playing catch-up for the four or five years when nothing happened.”
Eskom is now building power stations and network infrastructure and is rolling out an energy conservation campaign. The work towards Eskom’s build programme began in 2004. This included planning and getting permission to start building power stations. ‘The rate at which we catch up is constrained by the huge amount of capital involved in a build programme. A number of the older power stations are reaching the end of their lives, so not only do we have to build for growth but also for replacement,” says Bennett.
Between November 28 2008 and March 31 this year an additional seven power units were commissioned, five at Ankerlig in Atlantis and the other two at Gourikwa, Mossel Bay, in the Western Cape. They will contribute an additional 1039MW generating capacity. ‘We have five power stations producing energy but not at maximum output,” says Andrew Etzinger, spokesperson for Eskom.
Three power stations have been returned to service, which is helping bridge the gap until 2013 when the next large coal-fired generators are expected to start producing electricity. The gas turbine power stations in the Western Cape were built in two years.
Coal-fired power stations take longer to build, about eight to 10 years. There are currently three power stations are under construction. Two coal-fired power stations in the northern part of the country and in the Witbank area. The other is a pump-storage power station, says Etzinger. Almost 90% of South Africa’s electricity is generated in coal-fired power stations.
Koeberg, a large nuclear station near Cape Town, provides 6% of capacity while a further 5% is provided by hydroelectric and pumped storage schemes. Coal power stations are cheaper but leave a substantial carbon footprint.
Nuclear, on the other hand, is more expensive but releases no carbon dioxide. ‘Some would argue that we need to diversify our supply options by, for example, increased use of renewables,” says Bennett.
Renewable energy is possibly the cleanest but presents large costs. The cost of the new build programme for this and the next five years stands at R385-billion. The power utility is investing about R800-million a year in energy-efficient appliances and equipment used by electricity consumers in South Africa.
Eskom is engaging commercial and industrial customers through energy efficiency advisers around the country. The department of energy was given the responsibility of ensuring private-sector participation in power generation through a competitive bidding process.
In 2003 Cabinet approved private sector participation in the electricity industry and decided that future power generation capacity would be divided between Eskom (70%) and independent power producers (30%).
The Energy Research Centre and Eskom both agree that to prevent future blackouts the country needs to increase its generating capacity to meet the increased demand that comes with increased economic growth.
According to the department of energy, South Africa supplies two-thirds of Africa’s electricity and is one of the four cheapest electricity producers in the world. ‘On the demand side, efforts by consumers to reduce their demand for electricity, especially at peak hours, will lessen the chance of interruptions,” says Bennett.
Demand-side management is crucial in promoting energy efficiency in South Africa, says Eskom. It reduces the demand on the electricity network, delays the need for additional power stations to be built to meet demand for power, keeps electricity costs down and creates opportunities for the introduction of the creation and funding of incentives for projects and products.