OP-ED: The power cuts will continue unless SA’s new electricity plan translates into urgent new power procurements

South Africa is sleep-walking into further periods of power cuts and darkness. Eskom has re-instituted load-shedding. A fifth of Eskom’s power stations are broken at any one time. And no new grid-connected electricity generation capacity has been procured since November 2014, despite Eskom system adequacy reports indicating that we are short of power and risks of further power outages are high.

It is only a small minority – no-longer politically connected – who believe nuclear reactors are price-competitive in South Africa or, indeed, capable of being financed. All the planning models show nuclear power to be the most expensive option. While there is the interesting possibility of scientific and technological breakthroughs in next-generation, small, modular nuclear reactors, none are yet commercially available, let alone for export.

Policy-making should involve explicit choices against clearly defined policy goals or criteria that are supported by sufficient consensus.

Government has three main options to bolster supply security and prevent future power cuts: the performance of Eskom’s power stations would need to improve dramatically ; government could initiate a new IPP procurement ; or government could free up the distributed generation market so that multiple private project developers and investors can contribute innovative local solutions to meet electricity needs.

Thanks for that. Its simple, bring back as many of those who took Eskom to the Financial Times Power Company of the Year described as 'providing the world’s lowest-cost electricity. It's easy, appoint the right people.

Finish madupi and kusille power plant first. They could even get those correct.

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