By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider
According to the Synthesis Power Solutions director and energy expert, Thomas Garner, Load shedding is likely to make a return before the end of the decade.
“Load Shedding has dissipated. It’s given some reprieve to the public. As soon as that happens, people think that the challenges are over. However our challenges are systemic” said Garner via BiznewsTV.
Garner continued to highlight that three coal powered fire stations must be decommissioned over the next two years, citing that this could cause serious problems by the year 2029. “Three power stations are currently contributing to the grid. They’re probably part of the stations in cold reserve, and they need to be decommissioned. So, we can’t rely on them post 2029.” said Garner.
He also highlighted that as the economy grows so will the demand for electricity despite the dwindling supply of the latter which could inevitably lead to the return of load shedding. “For planned reasons, then you’ve got this challenge of a supply-demand imbalance, which could lead to further load-shedding” he continued.
Professor at the University of Cape Town Power future labs, Anton Eberhard, also made a prediction of a return for load shedding, due to what was published by Energy and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokopa.
Ramokopa published a revised plan which notes Eskom having sole control of the transmission infrastructure. “If Eskom holds onto transmission, I predict continued constraints for its competitors connecting to the grid and the return of load shedding as insufficient new generation comes online,” said Eberhard.
He continued to explain that this would undermine fair and transparent access to the grid and power market. His other concern was that the progress toward opening the power market to private-sector investment could be squandered.
“As technologies develop, the skills and the experience of people who have been in coal have now moved to new technologies” said Garner. Garner mentioned that the supply of spares for coal filled power stations has started to dwindle and that getting new spares will be costly.