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Warmth Creates Blackouts – Frustrated by that?


Vijay Jayaraj – June 6, 2022

South Africa – believed to be one of Africa’s advanced economies – is reeling from severe power shortages and intermittent daily blackouts – some lasting up to eight hours.

In May, most households, commercial buildings and industries experienced many hours of power outages. South Africa’s state-owned electricity company ESKOM is without power from 5pm to 10pm due to “loss of generating capacity”.

Last month, Social unrest has been reported in many parts of the country after frustrated people took to the streets to protest power outages, cable theft and years of inefficiency in Eskom.

The utility has a reputation for failure, poor maintenance, and failure to increase generating capacity.

Reports indicate that “South Africa is poised for 101 days of blackouts this year.” In 2021, there will be only 65 days without power. But the current situation can only get worse, thanks to a sobered climate agenda that Eskom and the South African government have adopted.

Follow Comprehensive Resource Plan 201924,100 MW of conventional thermal power sources (mainly coal) will be decommissioned by 2050 and replaced with renewable technology.

As part of a plan to reduce reliance on conventional energy sources, South Africa is likely to receive money from a climate fund provided by a consortium of nations. Bloomberg reported“The agreement (climate fund) will allow Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. access to US$8.5 billion, UK, Germany, France and European Union committed… The company wants to use this money to finance the closure of some coal-fired power plants and construction building renewable energy facilities to replace them”.

Eskom is also ready to accept $2.8 billion from the African Development Bank, some of which will be used to help transition utilities to a “low carbon” system over the next five years – a move that could make Eskom even less efficient. The bank has stopped funding fossil fuel projects in Africa and is engaged in reducing the continent’s conventional energy capacity.

This transformation makes no sense. In the year 2021, 84% of total electricity produced in South Africa comes from coal. Only 5% is produced by wind and solar, and increasing their share will only exacerbate South Africa’s electricity shortage.

This is because both wind and solar provide only intermittent power, with no unusual backup solution available on a commercial scale. Globally, renewable-intensive power networks rely on backup support from conventional energy sources such as coal, gas and nuclear.

In the case of South Africa, conventional coal infrastructure is already in disrepair, outdated facilities and underinvestment. If funds continue to be redirected to renewable infrastructure, the outlook for the entire grid is indeed bleak.

It took decades of development to create an efficient and efficient power industry. South Africa is illustrating that an electrical system can be destroyed more quickly.

Access to electricity in rural South Africa hit an all-time high of 82% in 2014. By 2020, Eskom’s inefficiency coupled with the climate agenda has boosted the countryside. village electrification rate down to 75 percent. Overall electrification rate (urban and rural) has been on the rise since 2014No noticeable improvement.

Eskom’s promise to reduce coal-fired power generation over the next 30 years risks plunging 62 million South Africans into the abyss of power outages and significant economic damage.

Vijay Jayaraj is a Research Associate at the CO2 Alliance, Arlington, Va. and have a Master’s degreedegree in environmental science from the University of East Anglia, UK. He resides in Bengaluru, India.

First published here at American Thinker on June 6, 2022.


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