The wheeling of power, the trading of electricity, and self-generation are all coming to the fore and making a big difference: Independent energy analyst Chris Yelland.
You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here. ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW FIFI PETERS: Let’s move on to developments regarding load shedding. Earlier on today the electricity minister gave his a usual update on the state of affairs concerning load shedding right now, saying that good progress is being made in the energy crisis, and reiterating that South Africa had turned the corner although it was not yet out of the woods.
But as months have progressed the energy availability factor this year has improved, to the extent that last week the energy availability factor this year – for that week – was about the same as the same period the previous year. So we are now back to the situation where we were a year ago. In other words, things have improved to the state of what they were last year.
But I want to circle back to some of the comments that he made, Chris. He essentially implied that load shedding could soon be done in South Africa. I want to know if you agree with that – that it’s something that we could soon be looking at as something of the past? So things this year are not better than last year, but we have improved – and that’s a good trend. If we carry on improving, then we will see things improving next year.
At the same time, they are looking to delay the shutdown of old coal power stations where possible, and also to use open-cycle gas turbines that are diesel driven – where absolutely necessary.