Page 10 - AfrElec Week 35

AfrElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AfrElec
POLICY
Eskom CEO refuses to rule out more power cuts
Eskom cannot guarantee an end to power cuts linked to plant breakdowns and coal shortages, but maintenance and a planned restructuring are on track, chairman and Chief Executive Jabu Mabuza said, Reuters reported.
Eskom supplies more than 90% of South Africa’s electricity but does not generate su cient cash to meet its debt-service costs and relies on state bailouts to stay a oat.
Nationwide blackouts in the rst quarter of the year pushed the economy into a deep contraction. e situation has improved since March due to stable coal supplies and a maintenance overhaul, Mabuza told a press brie ng.
“ e one area we are focusing on is to ensure we do not put this country through loadshedding again. Whilst we cannot guarantee there will be no loadshedding we are con dent we can keep the lights on this summer,” he said.
e power cuts are referred to as loadshedding in South Africa.
Eskom’s coal stocks were at 50 days, excluding the Medupi and Kusilie power
stations, he said, adding that the company planned to undertake plant maintenance on 5,500 MW of capacity over the next seven months.
Coal stocks were at half of required regulatory levels of 50 days or more at the beginning of the year at most power stations.
Medupi and Kusile, currently under construction and not fully operational, are among the largest coal stations in the world but since building started in 2008, both have su ered major breakdowns while costs have escalated.
Zesco to buy SA power
ZESCO Limited intends to start importing 300 MW of electricity from South Africa at a total cost of $13.5mn to mitigate the electricity power de cit in Zambia.
Zesco director for commercial and customer services Chiti Mataka said the power utility company has an opportunity to start importing power from South Africa.
Mataka said the cost of importing power from South Africa and transmitting it will be shared between the rm and customers and go a long way in reducing load shedding hours.
INNOVATION
World Resources Institute’s data explorer targets Africa
Nearly 840 million people worldwide do not have access to electricity and most of them reside in sub-Saharan Africa. In East Africa the numbers are staggering: nearly 13 million people in Kenya (25%), 38 million people
in Tanzania (68%), and 31 million people in Uganda (78%) lack access to electricity.
Using data to link growing electricity demand with clean energy supply is essential to expand electricity services to those without power, which is why the World Resources Institute and nearly 20 partners launched Energy Access Explorer.
e dynamic open-source platform equips energy planners, donors and clean energy entrepreneurs with the information they need to electrify East Africa.
Until now, electricity planners and suppliers have o en been disconnected, using di erent tools and metrics to determine where supply was needed, versus where renewable energy could be installed.
e platform was speci cally designed to overcome this hurdle by combining more than 20 data sets on energy potential, population density, topography, income distribution and more.
Going beyond traditional tools to include critical infrastructure like schools, hospitals, and farms will dramatically increase the e ectiveness of electricity planning to bring energy where it is needed most. Initial data comes from Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya, with plans to take the platform global over time.
Without access to energy, the world won’t be able to meet development outcomes on health, poverty, gender, education and more. e Energy Access Explorer platform provides data to help strengthen the links between energy access and livelihoods.
Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the World Resources Institute, explained: “When vaccines can be refrigerated and health clinics can operate around the clock, more people are healthy. When lights stay on at home as well as at school, children can nish their schoolwork. And when food can be kept cool and fresh for longer, farmers can sell more produce and fewer people go hungry.”
Steer added: “Energy Access Explorer will help connect energy demand with supply in a way that’s never been done before to close the energy access gap, which is vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”
WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE
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Week 35 04•September•2019