Page 10 - AfrElec Week 04 2023

AfrElec ENERGY CRISIS AfrElec

Source: Karpowership.

South Africa turns to Turkey’s Karpowership

for emergency power supply

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH Africa has reportedly made a new The clamour for emergency provisions is
approach to Turkey’s Karpowership as it seeks to growing partly because, as Bloomberg noted, the
address its worst ever power shortages, which are persistence of power outages is eroding investor
causing the introduction of blackouts that last for confidence in South Africa.
10 hours a day or longer. In 2021, Karpowership secured a deal in
The country’s previous approach to source an emergency tender to provide 2,000 MW
1,220 megawatts of emergency power from the of electricity to the country. But challenges by
company’s powerships became bogged down in environmental activists and several complaints
legal challenges. But on January 23, Bloomberg, about the contract—including objections to its
citing sources who asked to remain anonymous, 20-year duration—have so far derailed delivery
reported that Karpowership could deploy its of the contracted electricity.
vessels, on which electricity is produced from Karpowership lately resubmitted an appeal
ship-mounted generators, to provide between with the environment department. It still plans
700 MW and 800 MW to the South African grid to deliver on the contract.
within three months. “We are using every means at our disposal,
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa calling on every resource we have, to get power
last week set up a power crisis committee, onto the grid as a matter of extreme urgency,”
though what legal mechanism the govern- Ramaphosa said on January 23 in his weekly let-
ment could use to secure energy from Kar- ter to the nation.
powership is unclear. The committee has Power-generation vessels of Karpower-
talked about using “emergency legislation” to ship, owned by Turkish conglomerate Karad-
fast-track electricity supplies. South Africa’s eniz Holding, provide electricity to countries
fleet of coal-fired power plants operated by including Cuba and Sierra Leone. Supply deals
Eskom Holdings continue to suffer frequent arranged with Lebanon have been hindered by
breakdowns. difficulties in obtaining payment. ™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 04 26•January•2023