There's little point supplying electricity that is unaffordable – and becoming more unaffordable every year
Eskom has been rightly praised for achieving 300 consecutive days without load shedding.
But there's little point supplying electricity that is unaffordable – and becoming more unaffordable every year.
Given the recent series of steep electricity tariff increases, it is difficult to believe Eskom is serious about their latest proposed tariff increase, of 44%. Agreeing to that amount would be tantamount to economic sabotage.
The Cape Chamber is therefore heartened by news of another renewable energy milestone for the Western Cape, which has long been the pacesetter in the green energy space. Lithium battery manufacturer Balancell recently expanded its Cape Town operation to meet growing demand for its storage solutions. The company, whose components are all locally produced, is a harbinger of a diversified energy sector where customers, both big and small, may no longer need to rely on Eskom supply.
Affordability, rather than reliability, is already a more serious power supply concern, hence the increasing focus on a burgeoning green energy sector.
It is also heartening to see the Western Cape Government driving renewable energy projects, such as the promising solar energy initiative in Riversdale. It incorporates the following three elements:
10 MW-hours of solar photovoltaic (PV) capable of generating 15 million kilowatt-hours annually;
a battery energy storage system (BESS) with a storage capacity of 10 MW-hours will enable efficient energy storage and discharge; and
the implementation of advanced monitoring and control systems for real-time performance tracking and optimisation.
If all goes according to plan, Riversdale could be the first Eskom-independent town, or so say the project stakeholders.
Enterprising projects of this kind illustrate how innovation, where allowed to flourish, can breach the gap created by bureaucratic delays. The need for diversified power supply is now common cause, yet Government is still playing catch-up with infrastructure investment. Solar energy is free once infrastructure is in place; by contrast coal has a material cost, machine operating costs, and of course a notorious environmental cost. The business case for cheap solar energy adds to the frustration around continued Eskom price hikes.
The Riversdale project is but one small component of a Western Cape Government Energy Resilience Programme that aims to generate 5 700MW by 2035. In our view this is a major step forward towards a more sustainable and affordable power supply.
John Lawson
CEO of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry