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World Bank report
SA's renewable energy IPP procurement programme: Success factors and lessons
South Africa occupies a central position in the global debate regarding the most effective policy instruments to accelerate and sustain private investment in renewable energy.
In 2009, the government began exploring feed-in tariffs (FITs) for renewable energy, but these were later rejected in favour of competitive tenders. The resulting programme, now known as the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), has successfully channelled substantial private sector expertise and investment into grid-connected renewable energy in South Africa at competitive prices.
To date, a total of 64 projects have been awarded to the private sector, and the first projects are already on line. Private sector investment totalling US$14-billion has been committed, and these projects will generate 3922 MW of renewable power. Prices have dropped over the three bidding phases with average solar photovoltaic (PV) tariffs decreasing by 68% and wind dropping by 42%, in nominal terms. Most impressively, these achievements all occurred over a two-and-a-half year period. Finally, there have been notable improvements in the economic development commitments, primarily benefiting rural communities. One investor characterised the REIPPPP as "the most successful public-private partnership in Africa in the last 20 years." Important lessons can be learned for both South Africa and other emerging markets contemplating investments in renewables and other critical infrastructure investments... (more)
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Invitation
Seminar: The ABCs of multimeter safety
You are invited to attend a free seminar where you will learn why you shouldn't overlook safety - your life may depend on it.
DATE: Wednesday 25 June 2014
TIME: 10h00 to 12h00
VENUE: Comtest house, 10 Enterprise Close, Linbro Park.
COST: No charge, free-of-cost
The seminar will be presented by Gerrit Barnard and Gavin van Rooy, product managers at Comtest.The seminar will cover:- Why safety ratings and independent testing is critical
- How to make electrical connections safe
- How wearing personal protective equipment can save your life
- A guide to safe work practices
There is no cost to attend, and to get you started on safe practices in your working environment, each delegate will receive a free set of Fluke TL175 Twistguard test leads valued at R557, and a memory stick filled with safety application notes and information.To register please contact Tracey on tjohnson@comtest.co.za
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Industry news
Eskom's energy and revenue loss management
Information from Eskom
Energy losses continue to be a challenge for utilities globally, both in developed and developing economies. As a result of increasing production costs in the value chain, utilities have to manage these losses at acceptable levels. In South Africa the problem is exacerbated by Eskom's generation capacity challenges.
Losses incurred in electrical power systems are generally characterised by two components: technical and non-technical losses. Technical losses are caused by network characteristics and the nature of the load flow during the delivery of electric energy. Technical losses are related to equipment, i.e. energy dissipated in the conductors and equipment used for distribution of power. Technical losses can be accurately calculated or estimated using load flow studies as long as network configuration and load flow data is available. Non-technical losses on the other hand stem from internal process issues (inaccurate billing information, defective meters, etc.) and external issues (electricity theft, tampering, etc.) and cannot always be directly measured, but can be estimated. Non-technical losses can be calculated as the difference between total losses and technical losses.
Even though the total average losses are at the levels where the utility can be favourably compared with the best performing utilities globally, residential losses percentages in some areas are still unacceptably very high. The bulk of the residential areas where losses are generally higher than the acceptable average are within Gauteng province, with townships like Soweto, Sebokeng, Orange Farm, Randfontein, Evaton and Benoni topping the charts with average percentage losses above 40%. The biggest challenge in this province is the highly politicised communities which are either illegally connecting themselves onto the grid or tampering with their electricity meters and prevent the utility's staff or contractors from entering their areas, to the point of becoming violent. Mpumalanga and Free State are the other provinces where higher losses are recorded within the residential market, even though the utility does not face the violence experienced in Gauteng. Sometimes the energy losses figures either in volumes or percentages do not properly demonstrate the seriousness of the situation, but when one looks at the financial impact it starts to make sense. For the 2013 financial year Eskom lost more than R4-billion due to non-technical energy losses (mainly attributable to electricity theft)... (more)
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