Independent power producers need rescuing from Eskom

27 July 2016 - 10:42 By The Times Editorial

Flush with success at having turned around the power deficit that caused load-shedding that shaved at least a percentage point off South Africa's GDP, Eskom's new management now wants to stop buying electricity, including renewable energy, from independent power producers. Its CEO, Brian Molefe, a strong proponent of coal and nuclear power, is upfront about why Eskom wants to jettison its erstwhile friends in need: renewable energy is neither cost-effective nor practical, he says.''On any given day I will need about 35000MW at 6pm for peak demand," Molefe told the Sunday Times. ''When that happens, none of the solar panels installed in South Africa today will be available since the sun will have set. I cannot guarantee that there will be enough wind today to take us through the peak. That is a fact that confronts me every day.''Eskom must still consult the Department of Public Enterprises and the Treasury about its power plans, and the government's long-term energy strategy, the Integrated Resource Plan, has not been updated for six years.But it seems wrong that Eskom, which got us into the power crunch in the first place through huge cost overruns and lengthy delays at Medupi and Kusile, should be able to ruin our globally praised independent power producers programme just because the stuttering economy has allowed it to play catch-up.By allowing the private sector to participate in electricity generation, particularly from renewable energy sources, the government has raised close to R200-billion in direct investment and added more than 2000MW to the grid.The cost of renewable energy has been reduced to the point at which it is competitive with coal and nuclear, and more effective power storage technologies are not far away.Such public-private partnerships are central to the Treasury's efforts to grow the economy and avert a sub-investment grade credit rating.Eskom's intention to cut off the private producers is too big a decision for it to make...

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