Minister of Energy and Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has warned South Africans that load-shedding is not behind the country. (Photo by Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
The government “remains buoyant” about Eskom’s improved performance but South Africa is not yet out of the load-shedding woods, Minister of Energy and Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said on Monday.
“I really want to caution that load-shedding is not behind us,” the minister said at his regular media briefing on energy and electricity-related matters.
“In the next three weeks or so, Eskom will be sharing what the summer outlook is. We are still buoyant about the performance of these generation plants,” he said.
“Having said that, we need to caution against any early declaration to decree load-shedding as behind us. We do everything possible to resolve this question but the numbers do indicate that we are within touching distance.”
The majority of the country has experienced uninterrupted electricity supply for 137 days.
“We are expecting Medupi unit four to give us 800MW [megawatts] and to fire up Kusile unit six, which is another 800MW. We are hoping to get an extension of life of Koeberg unit two,” Ramokgopa said.
“We are not complacent. We are doing everything by the book, ensuring we cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s and are diligent in what we submit to the national nuclear regulator. We are still optimistic about getting that extension of life and it will give us an additional 980MW.”
By the end of August,it is expected that there will be an additional 2 500MW of electricity from the Eskom fleet alone, the minister said.
He singled out the Tutuka, Kendal and Kriel coal-fired power stations as “emerging stars”, noting that Tutuka has experienced a significant number of problems.
“But we are seeing results now. Just this period, from March to August, the unplanned capacity loss factor [UCLF] has reduced by 29%. That’s significant from where Tutuka started; they’ve moved from 2 411MW to 949MW,” Ramokgopa said.
“At Kendal, there were major issues with regard to exceeding the emissions standards, so there [were] a number of interventions that had to be made. Today… we were able to reduce the [UCLF] from 2 500MW out and now we’re sitting at about 919MW. And, of course, they continue to do exceptional work.”
“Exceptional results” had been seen at Kriel, with the reduction in the UCLF having gone down 53% from 1 400MW to about 508MW.”
Ramokgopa credited the leadership changes at the helm of these three power stations for changing its trajectory.
“The people issues do matter and the Eskom leadership has taken that into account. The fact that you place the most seasoned, loyal and patriotic individuals to be at the helm of those power stations has given us the kind of results that are required,” he said.
Saving on diesel
The unplanned capacity loss factor for Eskom’s fleet of power stations stands at about 10 508MW, compared with 15 500MW during the same period last year.
“That’s significant and, of course, it gets to be reflected in the energy availability factor [EAF],” Ramokgopa pointed out, noting that this time last year it was 55.32%, and has now risen to 63.22%.
“From 5 August until today, the EAF is 67%, which is a tremendous improvement. I want to say to the country we’re on the right path. We’ve always believed in this strategy that is orchestrated, deliberate and we are seeing the kinds of results that we are seeing.”
The improvement in the energy availability factor, the minister added, means less reliance on open cycle gas turbines and burning less diesel. Since the start of the financial year, the use of diesel has been brought down by 73%, saving about R9.6 billion, compared with the same period last year, he said.
“The more we improve the generation performance is going to find expression in the tariff increases because if your generation relies heavily on expensive forms of generation, it must be reflected in their tariff.
“If you are able to show to Nersa [National Energy Regulator of South Africa], I’m relying on burning diesel and therefore I’m asking for the following tariff increase, it’s going to weigh heavily on the users in this country.
“I’m confident we’re getting to a stage where really these [open cycle gas turbines] are going to be what they’re meant to be: peaking plants that are only coming [online] as and when we need them,” he said.
Ramokgopa said his ministry was doing everything possible to ensure it is able to address the “new phenomenon” of load-reduction, saying this required urgent attention especially since it related to municipalities and Eskom.
“We have engaged with Salga [South African Local Government Association] and we are pulling together with Salga on the best way of ensuring that we protect the interests of municipalities and we safeguard the interests of Eskom,” Ramokgopa said.
Collectively municipalities owe Eskom about R78 billion and municipalities are owed about R349 billion by various categories of customers, including households, businesses and the government.
“We require a solution that attends to all of those issues but also to ensure that when we experience the phenomenon of load-reduction, you are able to minimise, if you like collateral damage, to the extent that is possible,” he said.
The minister clarified that this collateral damage refers to those people “who are very obedient and diligent customers who pay their monthly bills diligently” but who are, too, affected by load-reduction.
“It’s also important that we protect the poor households; those who genuinely can’t afford because of economic constraints … and, of course, they don’t have the means and the ability to pay their monthly bills,” he said.
Ramokgopa noted that “fatal shortcomings” had been observed with the provision of free basic electricity.
“There’s about 10 million households in this country that qualify for free basic electricity but what we know is that only two million are receiving this free basic electricity as a result of challenges on the municipal side.”
This has to do largely with the rate at which municipalities are registering indigent so that they can benefit from free basic electricity, he said. “And yet municipalities are receiving this grant. It’s important that we are able to resolve this question so that we are able to protect the poor.”
The minister added that the cost of utilities is a big part of household spend in the country “so we are addressing that question to ensure that the eight million-plus households that are entitled to this free basic electricity are not getting it and yet this grant is given to municipalities and also to Eskom, gets to benefit from that”, he said.
He noted that the price of electricity has increased by almost 400% in the past 10 years and it is crucial to find “innovative solutions to address this question”.
Middle-income households are also experiencing severe pressures “so it’s important that we’re able to provide relief to those households and not just the protection of the poor but everyone across the board”.
His ministry wants to achieve two things with the electricity pricing policy. “The first one is that we want to ensure that electricity is affordable to low-income households and the second one is to make sure that it’s cost reflective for all customers,” he said.