Open-cycle gas turbines 'saving the economy' but cost is unsustainable

Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said burning additional diesel at open-cycle peaking plants is saving the economy in the short term but is not sustainable.

“We have taken steps again to ramp up the performance of the open-cycle turbines. Of course the downside is that we are burning diesel, very expensive, and on the other side we are saving the South African economy but that is not a sustainable measure,” said Ramokgopa. 

He said the solution to the country's energy crisis is ensuring the performance of all power generation units and improving their energy availability factor.

Ramokgopa was briefing the media on Sunday on progress made regarding the one-year implementation of the Energy Action Plan and launch of a behaviour change campaign to help reduce electricity demand.

He said significant and commendable strides had been made in some areas in addressing the crisis while other areas were lagging behind their targets.

Unit 2 at Grootvlei power station had returned to service.

“I am happy to indicate that unit 2 that was damaged partly by fire ... is back online and I really had to commend the head of generation for returning the unit as promised,” he said. 

He was confident progress was being made in reducing the negative effect of load-shedding on the economy.

“The small businesses are able to operate. The township businesses are able to operate, farmers are able to produce [and] we are able to address the issues of food security and, of course, we think of ending load-shedding as quickly as possible.”

He said reducing the amount of electricity used by consumers would help to reduce load-shedding and electricity bills.

Gauteng and Mpumalanga were the only provinces with additional available capacity. 

“Only two provinces in the country have sufficient capacity from a transmission side to be able to accommodate new generation,” he said. 

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