2025 energy crisis: Eswatini may do without Eskom
MBABANE – “2025 is a critical period for all sectors of the Eswatini economy.”
This is the view of almost every player within the country’s economy, given the imminent expiry of the government’s Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) with South Africa’s Eskom, which puts into question the country’s energy security post 2025.
Chief Legal Counsel and Board Secretary of Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority (ESERA) Felix Matsebula, said the country was on its way to extensively curtail its external reliance on power through the establishment of renewable sources of energy. “At present, the country is able to produce 70MW through hydro means. To add to this, ESERA has already commissioned the production of 80MW, 40MW through biomass, and the other 40MW through solar,” he said.
In addition to the newly-planned interventions by ESERA, the organisation recently commissioned the very first utility scale solar PV plant (10MW) in Lavumisa, which leaves the country with a deficit of about 80MW if the imports from both South Africa and Mozambique were to be discounted.
“We need about 240MW per year to meet demand. The balance is what we continue to import. However, with growth in the renewables sector, we expect that the deficit will be even lower when we get to the end of the PPA with Eskom,” he said.
Matsebula further pointed out that ESERA was in the process of exploring wind energy and had engaged partners to find ways through which the implementation of this could be fast tracked. He said by expectation, this should happen in the medium to long-term.
Solar
Manager-Consumer and Stakeholder Management at ESERA Teclar Dube-Maphosa, said the future for solar energy in Eswatini looked bright with the increased interest and uptake of solar power generation by various players. She said the policy and regulatory environment was enabling, and this could be observed by the increased uptake of solar generation for own consumption, particularly by both individuals and entities.
“Solar power can significantly increase local generation. We are confident that in the few upcoming years, there will be a massive difference on the ground in terms of solar, wind, or biomass energy production,” she said.
Two more renewable energy licences are reportedly on hold due to a court battle between the bidding companies. These projects are to be awarded to South Africa’s Globeleq and Aced, and it is worth about 45MW.
Matsebula confirmed that his company had experienced some delays in the issuance of solar energy licences. He said they hoped to have addressed these challenges as soon as possible.