Category: Energy & Power

The City Electricity Generation and Distribution Department reminds residents in parts of Mowbray and Rondebosch that a planned necessary electricity interruption will be carried out on Saturday, 19 November 2022 from 21:30 to 08:00 the following day, or on Saturday, 10 December 2022 from 21:30 to 08:00, depending on weather conditions, but not on both days.

This is critical maintenance to a major substation in the area, which needs to be carried out.

The interruption will enable City officials to carry out the necessary maintenance work at the Broad Road Main Substation in Mowbray. This substation supplies parts of Mowbray and Rondebosch.

We thank our customers for their understanding. To view the area outage map, visit https://bit.ly/3Ul2n0s

‘The City apologises for any inconvenience caused and thanks residents for their cooperation. City teams remain on the ground on a daily basis in our communities to complete maintenance and upgrades to substations, infrastructure cables and electricity kiosks among others. We encourage residents to visit the City’s website to view the map of the affected streets, or to contact the Electricity Department’s Technical Operations Centre on 0860 103 089 for more information or for enquiries,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen.

Please note:

The electricity supply could be restored at any time and customers must please treat all electrical installations as live for the full duration of the interruption.

Residents are encouraged to switch off appliances as a precaution and to avoid damage caused by power surges when the power comes back on.

Contact the City’s Call Centre on 0860 103 089 for more information or if you have any enquiries regarding the planned electricity supply interruption.

Source: City Of Cape Town

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate will be doing planned work in the identified areas which will result in water supply disruptions. The City sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused, but it is imperative that it maintains its water supply infrastructure to benefit its consumers. Residents in the affected areas below are encouraged to take note of the work that will be taking place in their areas.

What residents need to know about larger-scale planned water supply disruptions:

Careful consideration has been given to the planning of this work to ensure it is being done at a time that is least disruptive to the water supply.

All sites where water and sanitation repairs and upgrades are conducted are deemed to be construction sites and, as such are off-limits to members of the public.

Sometimes the maintenance work can be more complex than anticipated, resulting in it taking longer.

For a short period, after the supply has been restored, the water may be discoloured or look milky. This is because of trapped air in the pipes. If left to stand in a glass, the appearance will become clear, like normal.

For updates on the maintenance work (and the location of tankers where applicable), follow  @CityofCTAlerts which is a City of Cape Town Twitter account.

How residents are advised to prepare for planned water supply disruptions:

Store enough water in clean sealed containers that will last for your use during this period.

Keep your taps closed to prevent any water loss and/or damage when the water supply is restored.

Zero-Pressure Tests and Step Tests

• Table View, Flamingo Vlei and Bloubergstrand

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate will conduct zero pressure tests on the main water supply to the Table View, Flamingo Vlei and Bloubergstrand areas. This work will result in the disruption of the water supply in these areas on Wednesday, 16 November 2022, from 21:00 overnight until 04:00 on Thursday, 17 November 2022.

• Bellville South, Beroma, Glenhaven, Labience and Kasselsvlei

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate will conduct zero pressure tests on the main water supply to the Bellville South, Beroma, Glenhaven, Labience and Kasselsvlei areas. This work will result in the disruption of the water supply in these areas on Thursday, 17 November 2022, from 21:00 overnight until 04:00 on Friday, 18 November 2022.

Zero-pressure testing and step testing are part of the installation process for pressure management technology. Tests are done in advance to see if any unmapped inflows need to be considered before installing smart pressure-reducing valves.

In these affected areas, some residents may experience low water pressure, and some may have no water coming out of their taps for some time during this overnight testing period. It is impossible to predict which areas or streets will experience disruptions.

Residents are kindly advised to store water in clean, sealed containers in advance for use during this period and to ensure that their taps are closed to avoid water loss and/or damage when the supply is restored.

This work forms part of the City’s Water Demand Management Strategy. Managing water pressure more effectively reduces the possibility of pipe bursts and water wastage.

The City sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused.

Source: City Of Cape Town

Eskom Chief Operations Officer Jan Oberholzer says the power utility has spent at least R12 billion over the past year on diesel in order to run its open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs).

The OCGTs are the power utility’s emergency generation units which have had to be used extensively during the past year due to the high number of breakdowns at coal fired power stations.

Oberholzer was speaking during Eskom’s State of the System media briefing on Tuesday afternoon.

“In order to supply the demand of the country, we have to run our [OCGTs]…extensively. We have invested in excess of R12 billion this year already burning diesel. Needless to say, Eskom has significant financial challenges as well. If we look at the load shedding that we currently have, it is also to address the scarce financial resources that we have. We do not have money to burn diesel anymore.

“If you look, you’ll find municipalities owing [Eskom] R52 billion but on the other side, we are forced to burn diesel. We are depleting our cash reserves and we are finding ourselves at a very, very delicate position,” he said.

Since January this year, South Africans have endured at least 155 days of load shedding due to some 468 trips at power stations.

Oberholzer said the performance of the generation unit of the power utility – mainly coal fired power stations – has not been good enough.

“There are various reasons for that. But if you look at it, it is not good. This is why we do have load shedding in the country. The number of trips [of generation units] is way too big and this is something that we need to get a handle on.

“Last year when we were talking about the number of trips, we were saying there’s too many trips and this year we’ve actually exceeded that. We really need to get our hands on this unreliability and unpredictability of some of the units at the power stations,” he said.

Oberholzer said as a result of the unpredictability and unreliability of the power system added with major capital projects and repairs and maintenance, “the risk of continued load shedding remains quite high”.

The generation units expected to be taken offline maintenance and repairs include:

• Koeberg Unit 1 (920MW): To be taken offline on 8 December and expected to return in June 2023
• Kusile Unit 1 (720MW): Taken offline on October 23 this year with a return date not yet determined.
• Kusile Unit 2 and 3 (1440MW): On a precautionary outage due to unit 1’s failure. A return to service date has not yet been determined.
• Medupi Unit 4 (794 MW): Out since August 2021 and is expected to return to service in September 2024.  

“This is the reality of operating a shrunken generation system bereft of any reserve margin – every single breakdown pushes the whole system to the edge.

“This loss of capacity, temporary as it is, will make for a very challenging summer season, particularly as this is our peak planned maintenance period where a number of units at various power stations have to be shut down to conduct much needed maintenance.

“While Eskom works on returning these large units to service, we will have to continue limping along to meet demand for electricity, particularly over the next six to 12 months,” he said.

Acting Managing Director of Generation, Thomas Conradie, outlined some of the power utility’s plans to up the performance of power stations over the next 24 months.

“There’s significant megawatts that we believe we can return from the UCLF [Unplanned Capability Loss Factor] in the order of 3900MW. The Kusile new units…will give us a very healthy 1600MW additional and then also Medupi [unit] 4 which we will bring back in 2024.

“Our expectation is that within the six month period, we will be able to recover 1361MW and a further 1826MW over the next twelve months and 18 months. And after that 1890MW.

“This ultimately brings us up to just over 6000MW that we believe we can receover within the next 24 months,” he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Department of Water and Sanitation to host the Stakeholders’ Consultation Workshop on the National Faecal Sludge Management Strategy

The National Faecal Sludge Management Strategy encourages sustainable sanitation management along the sanitation value chain to prevent health hazards and protect the environment. It also enhances operation and maintenance of on-site sanitation systems and prevent groundwater contamination.

Sanitation has economic value and SA has recognised the need to pursue sanitation resource recovery, recycling, and reuse. The strategy therefore creates a transition from treating sanitation as waste to treating it as a resource and using it to create economic and job opportunities.

The workshop will be attended by various stakeholders who will make inputs into the Draft National Faecal Sludge Management Strategy and also share lessons learned on faecal sludge management initiatives and practicalities of implementation. 

Source: Government of South Africa

Residents are advised that the water supply disruption scheduled on Tuesday, 15 November 2022, from 21:00 overnight until 04:00 on Wednesday 16 November 2022 for Wesbank, Bardale Village, Fairdale (Delft) and surrounding areas, has been cancelled.

The City’s Water and Sanitation Directorate has confirmed the temporary shutdown of the water supply during the planned period is no longer needed as the bulk water meter that was going to be replaced is functioning normally, and not faulty as initially indicated.

Affected areas would have been Wesbank, Bardale Village, Fairdale (Delft area), Silversands, Delro Village, Hindle Park, Wimbledon Estate, Camelot, Hagley, Summerville, Fountain Village, Blue Downs, Forest village and Heights, Hillcrest Heights, Tuscany Glen, Malibu Village, Belladonna, Blue  Downs CBD, The Conifers and Electric City.

The City regrets any inconvenience.

Source: City Of Cape Town

Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says South Africa will need funding in the form of grants in order to implement the Just Energy Transition.

He was speaking during the weekly presidential media briefing in Pretoria on Sunday.

Magwenya revealed that South Africa will need at least R1.4 trillion over five years to transition from high to low carbon emissions.

“This money will need to come from various sources including the funding that industrialised countries have promised to developing countries and from commercial financial institutions.

“At the UN Climate Change Summit last year, France, Germany, UK, US and the European Union pledged around R140 billion to support the just transition. An initial amount of R10.7 billion has been received in low-interest loans from Germany and France.

“While South Africa welcomes low-interest (or concessional) loans, a substantial portion of this funding needs to be in the form of grants,” he said.

Magwenya said the move towards lower carbon emissions is imperative as the toll will begin to weigh heavily on South Africa’s economy.

“South Africa’s exports need to remain competitive in a global economy where goods from countries with high carbon emissions will soon attract high tariffs. Unless we reduce our emissions, many of the goods we seek to export will find key markets closed to them. Thus, South Africa’s economy will struggle to grow and create jobs.

“We need to access finance for infrastructure development and industrialisation when more and more banks are not investing in high emission industries. Our companies will struggle to get financing for infrastructure, factories and other projects,” Magwenya said.

The spokesperson emphasised government’s position that a Just Energy Transition must bear in mind the socioeconomic consequences of moving towards lower carbon emissions.

“A just transition is needed to ensure that the shift to a low-carbon economy does not negatively affect workers, communities and broader society.  For example, new jobs and opportunities need to be created for workers in the old power stations that are being decommissioned and those in the coal mines that supply them. They need to be skilled and reskilled to take up positions in new industries.

“Affected communities need to benefit from the building of new renewable energy plants and new industries that produce materials for renewable energy, electric vehicles, green hydrogen and mining for minerals needed in the new economy. Community members should be able to participate directly in these industries and indirectly through the businesses that will support new economic activity,” he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from 4pm and Tuesday evening until 5am, Eskom said on Monday.

Stage two load shedding will then kick off between 5am and 4pm on Tuesday.

“The higher stage of load shedding is mainly due to high levels of breakdowns as well as the depleted emergency generation reserves.

“Load shedding is implemented only as a last resort in view of the shortage of generation capacity and the need to attend to breakdowns,” an Eskom statement read.

The power utility currently has 16 992MW of capacity unavailable due to breakdowns with a further 4177MW off due to maintenance.

“Since Sunday morning, a generating unit each at Duvha, Kriel and Tutuka power stations were taken offline for repairs while the delay in returning to service a unit each at Duvha and Majuba power stations have contributed to the delays.

“A generating unit each at Grootvlei, Hendrina, Majuba, Matla and Medupi power stations were returned to service.”

The power utility said it will give a “further outlook” at a media briefing tomorrow.

Source: South African Government News Agency