As a result of electricity supply limitations in South Africa and many other sub-Saharan African countries, economic growth is set to be impeded, which will affect many electricity-intensive and -depen- dent industries, including mining.
These energy constraints were confirmed to be prolonged on November 16, 2015, when South African State-owned power utility Eskom announced the extension of the time to commercial operation of its new power stations, Medupi and Kusile, by another year – bringing Medupi into full operation in 2020 and Kusile in 2022.
According to the World Bank’s annual Doing Business Report for 2016, South Africa ranked 168 out of 189 countries in the ‘Getting Electricity’ category, proving the enormity of the challenges faced by the national grid in maintaining reliable supply.
One of the definitive measurements in this category is the reliability of supply and transparency of the tariffs index, which is calculated on the basis of the duration and frequency of power outages, tools to monitor power outages, tools to restore power supply, regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance, financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages and transparency and accessibility of tariffs.
South Africa scored 0 out of 8 in this category, while the sub-Saharan African region averaged 0.9 – far below the global average of about 3.6. Generator manufacturer Cummins Africa PowerGen
director Kenny Gaynor says internationally based companies that wish to compete in South Africa bring much-needed foreign investment to the country, but face the reality of costly power outages. “As a result, many operations within the mining sector are choosing to go entirely off the grid.”
The mining sector is already under pressure from lower commodity prices and labour unrest, and cannot afford disruptions caused by planned and unplanned power outages. “I certainly see a move towards off-the-grid solutions, especially in heavy industries, as it is highly unlikely for a newly established operation to be assured of 10 MW of operational supply, for example, in the current conditions,” he adds.
Off-Grid Solutions
Cummins’ PowerGen division designs and manu- factures preintegrated generator sets in capa- cities from 8 kVa to 3 300 kVa.
Off-grid power solutions are based on the specific requirements of the applications they will be used in and, therefore, are generally classified as either standby or prime.
Standby generators are designed to provide power in the event of grid failure. As a result, the rated duty of a standby generator is low. Typical applications of a standby generator are about 20 to 40 hours of operation a month.
Prime application generators are designed to be operated as primary sources of power and, therefore, are usually operated continuously. Gaynor notes that prime generators require detailed planning and a larger investment, owing to their requirement for reliability, as the whole operation is dependent on the power supply from a prime generator.
As part of its off-the-grid solutions, Cummins PowerGen provides a comprehensive range of services, including conceptualisation, design, construction, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance.