ANC gives coal strategy the thumbs up

The ANC has approved plans by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to extend the use of Eskom’s coal-fired plants earmarked for decommissioning, in a bid to stave off an escalation in load shedding.

Ramokgopa on Friday presented his plan to ease power cuts before the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC), its highest decision-making body.

“The NEC supports the approach that, as we prioritise load shedding, we will need to revisit our decommissioning schedule to balance energy security and our climate commitments,” ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa said in his closing address to the NEC.

Africa’s most-industrialised nation has been hobbled by an energy crisis that’s slowing economic growth and increasing costs for companies. The plan to keep using the dirtiest fuel for longer may also delay transition to cleaner fuels and access to $8.5 billion (R155 billion) of funding by rich nations for closing coal plants.

The updated schedule will be determined by a number of factors, including modelling to estimate projected future capacity from various sources as commissioned by the National Energy Crisis Committee of Ministers. Other factors to be considered will include research on the decarbonisation trajectory to be conducted by the Presidential Climate Commission, as well as a feasibility study on the refurbishing of power stations commissioned by the National Treasury.

Cabinet may approve the new schedule by the end of June and no units will be shut down until the new schedule has been finalised. Eskom, will also need to increase its budget for fuel to run diesel turbines at maximum capacity, which could insulate the nation from two stages, about 2 000 megawatts, of power cuts, Ramokgopa’s presentation showed.

A special dispensation could reduce the cost by allowing Eskom to directly purchase the fuel. It is estimated the utility will require an additional R30 billion to purchase diesel if stations are ran at their maximum capability.

The strategy would result in the increased use of fossil fuels to mitigate electricity shortages. In the worst-case scenario, SA could reach stage 8 power cuts, meaning 8 000MW would be withdrawn, according to the presentation.

As we prioritise load shedding, we’ll need to revisit our decommissioning schedule