MORE sophisticated management of Eskom’s maintenance schedule, to better match periods of projected demand, and new capacity from the Ingula pumped storage scheme should keep maintenance to a minimum next winter, says acting CE Brian Molefe.
New capacity from Ingula is expected to come on stream in April 2015.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament on Friday, Mr Molefe laid out plans to minimise load shedding over the next year while still undertaking an average of 4,500MW of planned maintenance over the year.
In the past efforts to “keep the lights on at all costs” and avoid load shedding have led to maintenance being deferred and the result has been an enormous increase in unplanned plant breakdowns.
This would not happen again, said Mr Molefe, but instead blocks of maintenance would be shifted out of high demand periods, such as winter, and done during periods of the year when there was greater headroom for maintenance. An average of 4,500MW of planned maintenance would be carried out over the year.
Generating capacity will also improve during 2016, he said, with 1,200MW from the Ingula pumped storage scheme to be phased in between April and August.
Friday was the 27th consecutive day without load shedding. The capacity outlook shows that supply will mostly meet demand until February next year, when it begins to deteriorate. As SA heads into winter the gap between supply and demand grows. Mr Molefe says better planning will ameliorate this.
Mr Molefe also spoke strongly in favour of nuclear energy, which he said “once built is the cheapest” form of energy available. Eskom would not have difficulty financing SA’s new nuclear build off its own balance sheet, he said, as the revenue flows from future electricity sales would easily secure the necessary financing.
“The question will be: When the financing model for nuclear power is done, will the future benefits outweigh the costs? My instinct is that it is very likely that they will, in terms of the accounting benefits, societal benefits and contribution to GDP (gross domestic product).”
Brian Molefe. Picture: PUXLEY MAKGATHO
MORE sophisticated management of Eskom’s maintenance schedule, to better match periods of projected demand, and new capacity from the Ingula pumped storage scheme should keep maintenance to a minimum next winter, says acting CE Brian Molefe.
New capacity from Ingula is expected to come on stream in April 2015.
Speaking to journalists in Parliament on Friday, Mr Molefe laid out plans to minimise load shedding over the next year while still undertaking an average of 4,500MW of planned maintenance over the year.
In the past efforts to “keep the lights on at all costs” and avoid load shedding have led to maintenance being deferred and the result has been an enormous increase in unplanned plant breakdowns.
This would not happen again, said Mr Molefe, but instead blocks of maintenance would be shifted out of high demand periods, such as winter, and done during periods of the year when there was greater headroom for maintenance. An average of 4,500MW of planned maintenance would be carried out over the year.
Generating capacity will also improve during 2016, he said, with 1,200MW from the Ingula pumped storage scheme to be phased in between April and August.
Friday was the 27th consecutive day without load shedding. The capacity outlook shows that supply will mostly meet demand until February next year, when it begins to deteriorate. As SA heads into winter the gap between supply and demand grows. Mr Molefe says better planning will ameliorate this.
Mr Molefe also spoke strongly in favour of nuclear energy, which he said “once built is the cheapest” form of energy available. Eskom would not have difficulty financing SA’s new nuclear build off its own balance sheet, he said, as the revenue flows from future electricity sales would easily secure the necessary financing.
“The question will be: When the financing model for nuclear power is done, will the future benefits outweigh the costs? My instinct is that it is very likely that they will, in terms of the accounting benefits, societal benefits and contribution to GDP (gross domestic product).”
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