S-Af: Expect tight energy supply for four years

South Africans can expect tight energy supply for another four years, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said in Cape Town on Monday. The country’s energy supply problems are no different from those of other developing countries, he told a media briefing in Parliament.

“We are in exactly the same position as every other developing country,” he said.
The current reserve margin is 8%, while the National Energy Regulator wants 16%. The building of gas-fired power stations and co-generation projects is being sped up to ensure that by 2010 the reserve margin is closer to 15%.

A more efficient use of energy should result in a year-on-year growth in demand of between 4,1% and 3,6%, he said. “It was the big jump in peak demand, year-on-year, of just under 5% [that resulted in the crisis].”

The country will not entertain the possibility of constructing another large aluminium smelter the size of Alcan once it has been completed.

The electricity emergency plan is working and has resulted in a “significant” decrease in demand. “It’s clear that business and industry have come to the table. Currently we are saving more than the 10% target, but it’s early days,” said Erwin.

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