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Government wants to invest in the Waterberg area of Limpopo to boost power supply, Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown has said.
“In the case of the Waterberg, a major high voltage, direct current grid connection has been identified as a likely prerequisite for unlocking further large-scale power generation in that area.
“The cost of such a scheme is estimated at R13 billion,” Brown said last week in a keynote speech at the Power-Gen and DistribuTech Africa conference, held in Johannesburg.
Eskom CEO Brian Molefe said Brown was talking about the government’s infrastructure plans for the Waterberg, including power lines, rail tracks and water for the development of coal mines.
Eskom transmission executive Thava Govender said that in October, the power utility presented its 10-year transmission plan – ending in 2026 – and the Waterberg high voltage, direct current line was likely to be developed beyond 2026.
Govender added that the timing would depend on how coal power projects developed in the Waterberg.
The transmission plan accommodates only the Medupi power station and 500 megawatts of other power.
Brown said major investment was required in the transmission grid to sustain the connection of renewable energy plants.
Power surplus
Meanwhile, at a quarterly “status of the system” briefing by Eskom, Molefe said South Africa would have increasing power surplus over the next six years – and more, as Eskom added extra capacity.
At the start of this year, the power utility had capacity of 43 193MW, which would increase to 44 420MW by year end, compared with peak demand this winter of 35 000MW.
By the end of 2022, Eskom’s available capacity would rise to 53 389MW, with demand expected to climb by 5 000MW to 40 000MW.
“Eskom is progressively adding capacity over the next seven years, moving from load shedding to excess capacity” Molefe said.
“Even if demand increases to 45 000MW, we are confident that we will have enough reserve margin.
“We dare the South African economy to grow as much as it wants.”
To sell the surplus, Eskom had increased its cross-border sales by 33% in the second quarter, Molefe added.
Energy availability reached record highs of 81% in June – the best level since July 2013. It increased from almost 70% in the first quarter to 79% in the second quarter.
“We have gone through winter and it has been a spectacular success on the generation side,” said Molefe.
“Our prognosis for winter and beyond is that there will be no load shedding.”
The Ingula pumped storage scheme would be fully commissioned in 2017, followed by Medupi in 2020 and Kusile power station in 2022.
Anoj Singh, Eskom’s chief financial officer, said the company had applied to state energy regulator Nersa to extend the deadline date for its next application for a power hike until the watchdog had completed the revision of its multiyear price determination rules.
“Nersa has embarked on a process to revise the rules. It would be quite extraordinary for Eskom to submit an application for a multiyear price determination not knowing the rules,” said Singh.
“We will submit an application once the rules are known.”
