South Africa could realise a far greater return on its energy investments were it to introduce a “smarter”, more flexible electricity grid that incorporated an appropriate transmission and distribution network, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) researcher Steve Hedden has argued.
“Fixing South Africa’s energy crisis is not just about generating more energy. It doesn’t make sense to invest heavily in generation capacity without also rethinking transmission and distribution.
“Energy planning in South Africa has neglected the key element of how electricity moves from generation to consumption,” he noted at the Pretoria launch of a new ISS research paper titled ‘Gridlocked’.
According to Hedden, government’s Integrated Resource Plan for Electricity 2010–2030 (IRP 2010), adopted in March 2011, failed to adequately address the development of grid infrastructure, despite the transmission of power being considered in an IRP update in November 2013.
“Grid planning can’t be an afterthought. It has to be built in from the start,” he held.
The researcher added that grid planning was far easier when a small number of large power stations supplied energy to the country’s largest cities, with one organisation responsible for the entire system.
“In South Africa, Eskom is producing electricity at coal-fired power plants in Mpumalanga, the largest net supplier, and delivering most of it to the economic heartland of Gauteng – the largest net consumer.
“However, the source of power is shifting. By 2040, Limpopo’s new coal-fired plants will make it the largest net supplier and new gas and renewable capacity will make the three Cape provinces net producers,” he argued.