A Twist in the Cable
Words: Russel Wasserfall // Pictures: Sources from Koeberg Power Station, Pexels and Unsplash
South Africa’s electricity challenges have been making the news periodically for two decades. While the nation is being hampered by scheduled power outages – referred to officially as ‘load shedding’ – it can be difficult understand the challenge.
Africa’s southernmost state is blessed with huge resources of coal from which most of its power is generated. It also has abundant solar and wind energy. So how did the country find itself in this position, and why is load shedding dragging on despite the commissioning of massive renewable energy resources?
The fleet of coal stations operated by the state-owned utility, Eskom, is aging. As the post-liberation demand for electricity gathered momentum, the state was hard-pressed to maintain these. New-build facilities were ravaged with budget escalations, and the utility found itself at the centre of the state capture fiasco which crippled the entity and further curtailed power generation.
Koeberg, the nuclear power station on the West coast north of Cape Town, the largest plant in the southern hemisphere produces only 5 to 6% of the country’s output. Completed in 1984, it too is reaching the end of its life and was refurbished through 2022 and 2023 to extend its contribution to the grid. With all the sunlight and wind available, renewables presented an attractive alternative to dirty coal and an aging nuclear facility.
The South African government launched the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) in 2011, procuring renewable energy from independent power producers across 92 projects. By mid-2023, 89 projects had reached commercial operation, Koeberg is back on stream, but load shedding persists.
The coal-fired fleet which historically dominated the country’s energy landscape, is concentrated in the East of the country. That’s where the coal is. It is also where the bulk of the country’s transmission network is set up to supply mines, industry and major cities like Johannesburg with their power. Most renewable projects are far from these centres, in the semi-arid Karoo, and along the windswept Atlantic coast to the West.
The mismatch between renewable energy potential and transmission infrastructure highlights the need for strategic planning and investment in grid expansion and modernization. The scale of this challenge is significant. Building new high-voltage transmission lines and substations is essential to unlock the full potential of South Africa's renewable energy resources. It will provide much-needed jobs and opportunities in regions that were formerly economically barren and ensure a reliable and resilient power supply for the nation.
With a combination of strategic investments, policy support, and technological innovation, South Africa can not only address its energy needs sustainably but also emerge as a leader in the global renewable energy revolution. For now, though, load shedding is likely to remain a thorn in the nation’s side just a little longer.
South African writer, photographer and editor Russel Wasserfall has worked in the media space for over 35 years. His work is mainly in the arenas of food and travel and has appeared in more than twenty books and dozens of magazines. Wasserfall has run bars and restaurants, including his award-winning South African restaurant The Table at De Meye, and consults to restaurant start-ups on innovative food concepts. He runs a weekly podcast on the restaurant and food scene in his Cape Town home called A Table in the Corner.
