Earlier this year when the Department of Energy released a statement that South Africa does not have a shortage of generation capacity, but a shortage of available generation capacity, you probably burst a bubble. Bridging the gap between energy supply and demand has become a topical point of debates. At the last Technology Evening, EE Publishers’ Chris Yelland spoke positively about Eskom’s War Room and plans to address the electricity crisis in South Africa, amid being load shed himself at the venue.
The South African government stated it will attempt to implement its five-point plan, which, hopefully, will include the establishment of cogeneration contracts with the private sector; generation of electricity by means of gas; the fitting of energy-efficient technologies at municipal facilities; a programme for coal-fired power stations with independent power producers; and the implementation of a turnaround strategy at Eskom to improve the utility’s financial sustainability.
Yelland also discussed what the future holds in terms of load shedding, NERSA’s announcement that end-users will settle Eskom’s diesel bill; diesel costs vs imported LNG (liquefied natural gas) for its OCGTs (open cycle gas turbines); independent power producers and the demise of the ISMO Bill; and what the utility could do to start resolving these problems. He also touched on the financial impact of load shedding on the South African economy.
The branch thanks Yelland for his valued and informative talk.
Committee for 2015
This year’s committee was announced as follows:
• Eric Carter – chairman.
• Jurie Weidemann – vice chairman.
• Alvin Seitz – treasurer.
• Roxanne Bredenkamp – golf day.
• Cheryl Hird – secretary.
• Mike Banda – technical evening co-ordinator.
• Andrew Bharath – media liaison officer.
• Gary Friend – committee member.
• Kudzai Mberi – committee member.
• Jabulani Radebe – committee member.
• Dave Robinson – committee member.
Stay tuned for news of technical evenings, site visits, golf days and the annual function.
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