Page 3 - Energize October 2021

FROM THE EDITOR:

Opening up the future of

power

by Roger Lilley, Now Media

want power on the grid – who brings it is immaterial – so that This transition needs to be just. That is, it should benefit
the economy can grow”. So said Enoch Godongwana, South the country and its people as a whole – not just a few well-
“I Africa’s minister of finance, speaking at a recent online event. connected individuals.
His sentiments are shared by most people who are tired of Equally, the electric energy sector should be as home-grown as
Eskom’s load shedding, load rotation and load reduction. While one possible so that money raised from the sale of electricity remains
understands the need to balance supply and demand, the regular in the country for the benefit of its inhabitants.
hours-long power interruptions caused by the power utility are highly For this reason, if for no other, the country must invest in
disruptive to most people and have been shown to have a disastrous the manufacture of as much of the necessary infrastructure and
effect on the economy. equipment as possible, and only import what really cannot be
So, yes, we want power on the grid from whomever can supply it. made here.
A more reliable power supply will support economic growth, which in But keeping the money in the country is not the only reason for
turn will create jobs and address the scourge of poverty. insisting on a home-grown sector. Job creation, skills development,
Minister Godongwana said too, that the government’s efforts in local technical advancement and new technologies could and
trying to “fix” Eskom have been largely unsuccessful. should be the key focus in this transition.
Certainly, there are those who would say that some of Whether we increase the amount of electricity on the grid
Government’s efforts could be described as interference, with political by means of solar irradiation, wind power, chemical reaction,
appointees who knew nothing about the power utility’s inner workings, the movement of water, or by any other (clean) source should
put into senior management positions. These, some claim, were not matter.
personally responsible for the poor financial condition the state-owned Rather the focus must be on ensuring that the country has
power company finds itself in today. sufficient electricity to support a growing economy, and the
The minister’s comments have been interpreted to mean that he generation of that electricity must contribute in tangible ways to
supports renewable energy, which he might indeed do, but what’s the improvement of the lives of everyone who lives in South Africa.
more important is that his comments appear to support a greater role We are well aware that Eskom on its own cannot meet these
for the private sector in the generation of electricity. lofty ideals and must therefore embrace the private sector as co-
The term “just transition” is often used when the energy sector – producers, rather than see them as competitors.
especially electrical energy – is discussed. We should make sure that Fortunately, the government’s introduction of the Renewable
we understand exactly what is meant by the term. The word transition Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme,
means to change or move from one state or stage to another. In the the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producers Procurement
way it’s used regarding energy generation, it refers to moving away Programme, and the recent amendment to the Electricity Act,
from the old way of doing things to a new, or modern, way. shows that the government is willing for the private sector to
The old way of centralised power generation from massive GW- participate in the generation of electricity.
rated power stations with thousands of km of high voltage powerlines It is particularly pleasing to note that the amended Electricity
should give way to a more decentralised power system where Act no longer demands that Eskom be the sole buyer of privately
generation occurs near the load. generated electricity. This means that the private sector can now
Furthermore, the system should transit – or move – from being a produce and sell power on a “willing seller, willing buyer” basis.
purely state-owned business to being open to the private sector. In this Electricity is, after all, a commodity. In our modern,
way, more people could be involved in the generation and distribution technological age we cannot do without it. But at the same
of electricity. time, we cannot afford to have electricity at any cost, be it
Then there’s the transition from older forms of primary energy, financial or environmental.
such as coal, gas and oil, to cleaner forms: Solar, wind, hydrogen, Minister Godongwana’s comments are encouraging. We look
biomass, run-of-river, tidal systems, etc. These technologies are forward to how things will develop.
intrinsically clean in the sense that no air pollution results from the
generation of electricity. Send your comments to rogerl@nowmedia.co.za

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