By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa,says plans are at an advanced stage to release the long-awaited Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) that he believes will mitigate load shedding and help safeguard the economy.
Ramokgopa provided an update on the power grid in Tshwane on Sunday in Pretoria.
He said he was confident that the IRP would be presented to cabinet before the end of November, conceding that this date will mark a three-month delay.
The IRP is an electricity infrastructure plan which shows the country’s long-term electricity demand, how this demand will be supplied — and what it will cost. Without the IRP 2023, South Africa has had to rely on the assumptions contained in the 2019 version of the plan.
It’s important because it will inform all of our actions going into the future — what will constitute our energy mix. And of course that will determine what kind of investments, the scale of investments, that we will be making in the South African economy to ensure that we are able to meet that need, that we are able to resolve load-shedding and that, in the long term there is energy security, “Ramokgopa said
Ramokgopa also provided an update that the next public procurement round for renewable energy, known as Bid Window Seven (BW7), has been delayed until December.
He attributed the postponement directly to the delay in updating the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which he said was now at an “advanced stage” and should be published before the end of November.
BW7 was initially expected to be released in September, subject to the publication of the Generation Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA) by Eskom.
The GCCA was eventually released on October 31, but absent the results of curtailment studies undertaken to provide the option for developers to connect in grid “constrained areas”.
It is unclear whether the timing of BW7 could also be affected by a tender, issued by the Development Bank of Southern Africa, for a transaction adviser to review the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme and its evaluation model to improve its cost effectiveness and efficiency. The tender closed on November 2.
Eskom placed the country on stage 1 load shedding from 5am on Sunday morning until 4pm, which will be followed by stage 2.
Ramokgopa also said the first shipment from China has arrived and will help to alleviate pressure from the grid.
“The first consignment of the China shipment has arrived, we will be unveiling it officially on the 16th of November. We are going to get about 450 units of alternative emergency power solutions. The major beneficiaries are going to be the department of health because we are targeting clinics in rural areas.”