While South Africa continues to be confronted by the energy challenge, government will continue to work toward a reliable energy mix, says President Jacob Zuma.
Giving the nation an update since the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in February, the President said that since the inception of the five-point plan in December 2014, substantial progress has been made in resolving the energy challenge. “Operations and maintenance practices at Eskom continue to improve, to ensure that the power plants are appropriately maintained and provide electricity within their capacity,” he said on Tuesday. Eskom has signed Short-Term Power Purchase (STPP) Agreements that bring additional supply of electricity, to cater for the shortfall due to maintenance and to match demand during peak periods. A further 800 megawatts will be added to the grid through co-generation, while 450 megawatts have been realized through the energy efficiency programmes. Various projects of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP) currently supply 1800 megawatts to the grid. A total 92 projects of the renewable energy programme will bring a total of 6327 megawatts to the grid within the next two and a half years.The exploration of various other options for electricity generation is underway, including cross-border projects within the SADC region that include hydro, gas and coal.
Recently South Africa has been grappling with energy constraints evidenced by load shedding. “Our estimate is that electricity shortages are currently costing the economy close to 1% in economic growth,” said the President.
