Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has highlighted the significance of recent agreements signed with Chinese state-owned entities and the donation made by the People’s Republic of China.
These agreements and donation are aimed at addressing South Africa’s emergency energy solutions, as the country continues to face challenges in ensuring a stable and reliable energy supply.
Updating on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan at the weekly media briefing, GCIS – Pretoria.#LeaveNoOneBehind🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/hzmAU09lWv
— Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa (@Kgosientsho_R) August 27, 2023
Last week, South Africa hosted the 15th BRICS Summit, during which the country signed two memoranda with Chinese state-owned entities.
These agreements were witnessed by Presidents Cyril Ramaphosa and Xi Jinping, highlighting the importance placed on addressing the energy crisis in South Africa. President Xi also visited South Africa on his fourth State Visit to the country ahead of the Summit.
Speaking at a media briefing on the Energy Action Plan, Minister Ramokgopa outlined the focus of the agreements.
Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa
The first agreement aims to address issues related to green energy solutions, the exploitation of renewable energy sources, and the use of modern technology. China, being a dominant player in renewable energy, possesses vast experience and expertise in these areas.
With 688 gigawatts of installed capacity of renewables, including solar PV and wind power, China has become a global leader in the renewable energy space. Furthermore, they have also made significant investments in transmission infrastructure to accommodate the intermittency of renewable sources.
The second agreement involves a donation from the People’s Republic of China, specifically aimed at addressing South Africa’s emergency energy solutions. This donation will be targeted at key public facilities such as hospitals, clinics, correctional services, and police stations. Minister Ramokgopa emphasized that provincial departments will play a crucial role in identifying suitable sites for the implementation of these energy solutions. The Minister also announced that the first shipment of technology solutions from China is en route and will arrive shortly.
Turning to the performance of the energy system in the past week, Minister Ramokgopa acknowledged that the available capacity has reduced. However, he emphasized that efforts are being made to normalize the situation and ensure a reliable energy supply. Planned outages have been slowed down during the winter months to protect machinery and ensure sustainability.
However, once the difficult winter period is over, these planned outages will be increased to maintain the long-term reliability of the system. Despite this, there is still a need to reduce the unplanned capacity lost factor, which currently stands at above 15,000 megawatts.
Minister Ramokgopa also addressed the issue of load shedding, indicating that the government is confident that the system is stabilizing. The country has experienced lower stages of load shedding recently, indicating progress in the recovery of the energy system.
The Minister highlighted the improvement in energy availability factor, which has increased from a historic low of 48% to an average of 60%.
The intensity of load shedding has also decreased, with only 30 hours of Stage 6 load shedding during the winter period. Additionally, the number of outage slips has decreased significantly from a high of 3,300 megawatts to 766 megawatts.
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