Page 10 - AfrElec Week 28 2022

AfrElec POLICY AfrElec

SA president promises to announce

way out of electricity crisis

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has plant has been enhanced while work is under-
said his government will soon announce a plan way on two others. He added that his govern-
to ensure greater energy security in the country, ment has since 2018 created an environment for
acknowledging the adverse impact of electricity the greater contribution of renewables. However,
blackouts. he admitted that the measures are not enough to
Power utility Eskom had been forced to address the crisis.
intensify load shedding over the past two weeks “While the measures we have already taken
after 18,000MW of its 45,000MW capacity were will secure the supply of reliable and affordable
lost due to plant breakdowns and a workers’ electricity into the future, we have been looking
strike, he wrote on July 11, ahead of the expected at what additional measures we can take now to
announcement of a comprehensive set of actions bring that goal closer,” Ramaphosa wrote.
to address what he may declare an energy “We will soon be completing the detailed
emergency. work and consultations needed to finalise these
“After more than a decade of electricity short- further measures. We will then, in the coming
ages, South Africans are right to feel frustrated days, be able to announce a comprehensive set of
and angry,” Ramaphosa wrote. “At times like this, actions to achieve much faster progress in tack-
it can feel like there is no end in sight. Yet, while ling load shedding.”
load shedding appears to worsen, the reality is Meanwhile, Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi
that we have already taken several important has said he is opposed to calls to privatise Eskom,
actions to address the shortfall in electricity including by S&P Global Ratings, which says it
supply.” may be the best option to resolve the power cri-
Eskom’s old coal-fired facilities frequently sis in Africa’s most-industrialised nation, saying
break down while thieves steal copper wires doing so would be detrimental to the poor and
from its transmission and distribution infra- jobs.
structure, resulting in outages, some as long “I am not a proponent of privatisation of
as eight hours daily. A debt of about $24bn has key state assets,” Nxesi said, as quoted by busi-
worsened its capacity to deliver enough electric- nesstech on Monday (July 11). “If you privatise
ity. Without a reliable power supply, some busi- electricity, you can forget about the majority of
nesses have been forced to shut down. people having access to electricity, it is going to
Ramaphosa said about 1,200MW were added be very expensive for them. That’s why govern-
onto the grid on Saturday (July 9). The efficiency ment steps in when there is market failure.”™
of three units at the 4,800MW Medupi coal-fired

Nigeria shortlists 16 firms allowed

to buy five energy grid assets

NIGERIA THE Nigerian government has shortlisted 16 control over distribution.
firms it has approved to privatise five of the The low per-capita megawatt production in
country’s National Integrated Power Projects Nigeria means there is a significant opportunity
(NIPPs): Geregu, Omotosho, Olorunsogo, Cal- for growth and profit for companies that opt to
abar and Benin-Ihovbor. enter the sector. Through privatisation, Nigeria
Nigeria’s decision to restructure and priva- hopes to transform its current infrastructure into
tise a significant proportion of its power sector world-class facilities.
brings changes that impact the distribution The National Council on Privatisation (NCP
companies, known as DISCOs, which have )approved the adoption of a fast-track strategy
struggled to reliably provide power to the nation for the privatisation of the five NIPP plants in
since 2013, when the government ceded overall April 2021.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 28 14•July•2022