Page 8 - Energy Availability Factor News Today

Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, is expected to visit Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) in the Eastern Cape today.

Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says government, together with Eskom, is working on short term measures geared at relieving the expected increased impact of load shedding during the winter season this year.

Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has announced Eskom will spend about R30bn in the current financial year as it tries to mitigate the severity of load-shedding.

Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said he identified a set of ‘critical interventions’ to maximise the energy availability factor of the country’s coal generation fleet but could not definitively commit to when the country’s crippling energy crisis would end.

Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has expressed confidence in resolving the electricity crisis facing South Africa.

Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s purported plan to extend the life of old coal-fired power stations is dead on arrival because it ignores expert warnings about their declining Energy Availability Factor (EAF) and takes the focus away from renewable energy investments, which are key in helping the country address its energy needs. Independent energy experts have pointed out that, while the EAF for the Eskom fleet stands at 52% from January 2023 to date, the EAF for the coal fleet is only 45...

To date, South Africa only has about 6.2GW of installed capacity of renewables, making up about 10% of the country’s total 58GW of installed capacity.

The utility's board chair Mpho Makwana says the utility is advancing in filling the critical post.

Economists have commented on the continuing inability of Eskom to keep producing power after Stats SA published its recent report.

Latest warning of Stage 6 load shedding means generation of electricity will fall to its lowest level since 1994.