Distribution is ‘albatross’ of power system – Ramokgopa
South Africa’s electricity distribution system is “an albatross” beset by fighting between the national power utility and municipalities as the government takes steps to stabilize the grid, according to the electricity minister.
State-owned Eskom Holdings has focused on improving the performance of the mainly coal-fired power stations that have become unreliable due to neglected maintenance, resulting in record electricity outages that curb economic growth.
But the networks that connect to customers have become a growing challenge, electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said Sunday in an online briefing.
“The one area that remains an albatross is the distribution side,” he said. That includes disputes between Eskom and municipalities that owe the utility about R62-billion in arrears for electricity they sold on to customers.
South Africa has taken measures to add generation from independent producers through government auctions, though the process has been delayed and some projects held up due to grid constraints. Some businesses that can afford it are building their own generation.
Financially distressed municipalities are unable to maintain local distribution assets, which makes the equipment more prone to breakdowns, Ramokgopa said. Illegal connections also add strain to the system.
CHINA AGREEMENTS
South Africa signed an agreement with China’s largest grid operator during the Brics summit in Johannesburg last week on cooperation in clean energy investments.
“They’ve worked out the kind of transmission modernization that’s required to be able to accommodate the intermittency of renewable energy sources,” Ramokgopa said.
Another pact involved the donation, currently en route to South Africa, of about 450 mostly gasoline and diesel generators, along with some solar and battery units, for use in public facilities.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest News
Showroom
Immersive Technologies is the world's largest, proven and tested supplier of simulator training solutions to the global resources industry.
VISIT SHOWROOM
In 1958 John Deere Construction made its first introduction to the industry with their model 64 bulldozer.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
