Ghana: Karpowership Wins Outstanding Independent Power Producer In West Africa
Karpowership Ghana Limited was on Friday, 17th May, 2019, adjudged the Outstanding Independent Power Plant of the year at the West Africa Business Excellence Awards held in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
Karpowership was last year adjudged the Outstanding Power Plant of the year and the Most Strategic Deal of the year.
The West Africa Business Excellence Awards aims at recognizing companies and individuals who have played a significant role towards the development of various sectors in the West African region and also set a benchmark for excellence.
The award ceremony was under the theme “Propelling Outstanding Businesses to the World”.
Commenting on the award, the Corporate Communications Specialist for Karpowership Ghana Company Limited, Sandra Amarquaye said the award showcases Karpowership‘s burgeoning impact in the Power sector.
“At Karpowership every achievement we have attained is the product of a committed and dedicated team. Our goal is not only to meet the electricity demand of millions of people but to also positively impact lives through our sustainable social intervention programs executed in the communities within which we operate; including creating employment opportunities for the local economy. We work towards “one world” and contribute to increase global welfare,” she explained.
She revealed Karpowership is also a constituent part of the West African Power Pool, a regional initiative that aims to integrate the national power systems into a unified regional electricity market with the ultimate goal of providing reliable energy at competitive cost and to facilitate the cross-border trade of electricity in West Africa.
“It is fulfilling to know that the innovation and excellence we bring into the market is duly recognized,” she said.Karpowership is the only owner, operator and builder of the first Powership(Floating Power Plant) fleet in the world.Currently, the company has over 2,500 employees, and owns and operates fifteen (15) Powerships with an installed capacity of 2,800 MW, and 5,000 GW Powerships under construction.
Karpowership is operational in Gambia, Ghana, Indonesia, Lebanon, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Sudan.
The company also embarks on various social projects with a focus on education, environment and social support in the bid to give back to the communities within which it operates.
Venezuela Hit By Gasoline Shortages
Venezuela has been hit with gasoline import shortages that have caused lines at gas stations, Reuters reports, adding that local production has slumped too as the second-largest refinery in the country stopped operating.
PDVSA documents and shipping data from Reuters show that imports of fuel and diluents that are necessary to make Venezuela’s extra heavy refinable into fuels have since the start of the month dropped to 86,000 bpd from 225,000 bpd for April as U.S. sanctions bite deeper.
At the same time, the Cardon oil refinery, which has been operating at well below capacity even before the sanctions were introduced in January, halted operations because of damage to some of its units, Reuters quoted a local source as saying. Cardon has a capacity of 310,000 bpd but was processing just 115,000 bpd.
The news of the refinery suspension and the gas station lines comes on the heels of another update regarding production this time. Earlier this week, sources from Venezuela told Reuters none of its four heavy oil upgraders were operating as there was a shortage of buyers for the country’s crude after it lost its largest market in the U.S.
The report follows another one, by S&P Global Platts, which quoted a PDVSA report as saying production in the Orinoco Belt—the region where most of Venezuela’s oil riches are concentrated—had dropped to 169,800 bpd since the start of May. However, the reason given for the slump in that report was not the lack of buyers but rather the lack of tankers to carry the crude abroad.
Indeed, Venezuela has a barter deal with China and Russia that obliges it to repay sizeable loans with crude. However, the U.S. sanctions have targeted shippers, too, as part of the drive to remove Nicolas Maduro from power, and these have apparently heeded the warning.
Source: Oilprice.com
GRIDCo Wins Best Power Service Provider For Africa Award
CEO of GRIDCo Jonathan Amoako-Baah in the middle with the award.
The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) has been adjudged the Power Service Provider of the Year for Africa, at the African Power, Energy and Water Industry Awards in Cape Town, South Africa.
Chief Executive Officer of GRIDCo, Jonathan Amoako-Baah picked the award on behalf of the company.
Ten years ago when the company was incorporated, it has won many awards including, Outstanding Corporate Partner Award at the 2018 Annual Audit and Governance Conference organised by The Institute of Internal Auditors, Ghana.
The rest are Best Company in the Energy Sector at the 6th AGI Ghana Industry and Quality Awards, 2017; Excellence in Power Transmission or Distribution for 2015 and 2016 at the 2nd and 3rd West Africa Power Industry Convention, and 3rd Best Organisation at the 2013 Ghana Employers’ Association Awards.
GRIDCo became operational on August 1, 2008, with the mandate to develop and promote competition in Ghana’s wholesale power market, by providing non-discriminatory and open access to the transmission grid for all participants in the power market.
The Company owns and operates over 6,000 km of High Voltage Transmission lines across the country, which carry power from various generating stations to over sixty-four (64) substations for customers including distribution companies, major mining companies and some industries.
In a statement issued and signed by Joana Ohui Tetteh, for the Head of Public Relations at GRIDCo, the company said it is encouraged by the numerous recognition and awards received.
“The Board and Management of GRIDCo express their gratitude to all stakeholders for the immense support and cooperation extended to the company throughout the years, which have greatly contributed to its sterling performance,” the statement said.
“GRIDCo remains committed, and pledges to deepen its partnership with stakeholders towards the effective execution of its corporate mandate,” it concluded.
PDS’s App: Records Expose TV3’s Bridget Otoo
Bridget Otoo
Checks conducted by energynewsafrica.com regarding PDS’s APP has exposed the mischievous act of TV3’s Bridget Otoo for claiming that she has been defrauded by PDS through the APP.
Bridget Otoo, on Thursday, called on Ghanaians to desist from making any electricity payment on the new PDS app claiming that it is a scam.
According to the journalist, the application that is supposed to provide convenience to consumers to pay their light bills with ease is rather stealing from them with no service rendered.
Taking to Twitter, the journalist explained why she thinks the system is a scam aimed at defrauding unsuspecting users.
“PLEASE do not use @pdsghanaltd mobile app!!!! the officer says it’s on pilot bases, I won’t get the money I lost back, plus he won’t even advise me to use it. In. His own words “I have heard the complaint, saaaaa” He didn’t even log mine in eiiiii #Incompetent,” she posted.
“Please for your own good and safety, DO NOT USE THE ECG MOBILE APP!” she concluded.
Surprisingly, her post was given prominence by some major online portals including peacefmonline.com and modernghana.com, without cross checking from the Power Distribution Company whether her claim was genuine or out of ignorance.
However, energynewsafrica.com can confirm that PDS’s App has been working efficiently and Ms Bridget Otoo herself has used the APP severally and was duly credited.
Records available to energynewsafrica.com indicate that Ms Bridget and other customers have used the Application to purchase electricity credit for years.
Her latest purchase was on 10th May, 2019, and her meter was duly credited, albeit there was a delay in the SMS text communication to her phone.
When a customer purchases electricity via the App, the Company’s Server communicates with the meter to credit it with the purchased amount.
PDS, however, acknowledged that, sometimes, the SMS message to customers’ phones delays.
This is often due to failed internet connectivity. The text messages that delay, sometimes, accumulate and reach customers in bulk immediately the network improves, when they have started using the credit already.
This cannot be the basis to describe the App as a scam which customers have been using for years now.
Customers on the Nuri brand of meters, who have used the PDS App, can attest to the fact that it is a functioning tool.
The delayed text message challenge, which has existed for some time, according to a relaible source, is being addressed by the new Company, PDS.
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When energynewsafrica.com’s Michael Creg Afful contacted Bridget Otoo to speak to her on the evidence of she using the App, Ms Bridget, who spoke in a harsh tone, dropped the call.
When Mr Afful called her again, Bridget Otoo disrespected Mr Afful by saying that she wanted to speak to credible media houses and warned him not to call her line again.
Incident At Chevron Phillips Baytown Plant Sends Black Smoke In Air
An “unplanned operational issue” at the Chevron Phillips plant at Baytown, Texas, occurred on Thursday morning, the Houston Chronicle reports, citing company officials and showing photos of thick black smoke rising from the plant.
There is no danger to any plant employees or the community, company officials said in a post on the Community Awareness Emergency Response, (CAER) Online portal, where plants can post advisories about events or incidents.
According to company officials, cited by the Houston Chronicle, the company is working “to minimize noise, light or smoke” after the unplanned operational issue.
The incident comes two months after a fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) storage site at Deer Park, Texas, which blazed for days and halted some ship traffic at the Houston port. Back then, residents of Deer Park and Galena Park were told to stay indoors, and schools canceled classes for several days.
In December 2018, Chevron Phillips Chemical said that it had successfully started up operations of a new ethane cracker at its Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown.
Chevron Phillips Chemical aims to expand the chemical operations with a project estimated to be worth US$5.8 billion that would create 3,500 construction jobs.
Earlier this month, Greg Garland, chief executive at Phillips 66, told the annual shareholders’ meeting that Chevron and Phillips 66 were still evaluating sites about the multi-billion-dollar expansion, the Houston
Chronicle reported.
The Sweeny and Orange locations are emerging as front runners, according to Garland, because the Cedar Bayou location in Baytown already has an ethane cracker and could face limitations in permitting. Cedar Bayou is also close to an ExxonMobil ethane cracker in the area.
Chevron and Phillips 66 are expected to make a final investment decision on the expansion project next year, and potentially start up the new facility in 2023 or 2024, Garland said.
Source: oilprice.com
Incident At Chevron Phillips Baytown Plant Sends Black Smoke In Air
An “unplanned operational issue” at the Chevron Phillips plant at Baytown, Texas, occurred on Thursday morning, the Houston Chronicle reports, citing company officials and showing photos of thick black smoke rising from the plant.
There is no danger to any plant employees or the community, company officials said in a post on the Community Awareness Emergency Response, (CAER) Online portal, where plants can post advisories about events or incidents.
According to company officials, cited by the Houston Chronicle, the company is working “to minimize noise, light or smoke” after the unplanned operational issue.
The incident comes two months after a fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) storage site at Deer Park, Texas, which blazed for days and halted some ship traffic at the Houston port. Back then, residents of Deer Park and Galena Park were told to stay indoors, and schools canceled classes for several days.
In December 2018, Chevron Phillips Chemical said that it had successfully started up operations of a new ethane cracker at its Cedar Bayou facility in Baytown.
Chevron Phillips Chemical aims to expand the chemical operations with a project estimated to be worth US$5.8 billion that would create 3,500 construction jobs.
Earlier this month, Greg Garland, chief executive at Phillips 66, told the annual shareholders’ meeting that Chevron and Phillips 66 were still evaluating sites about the multi-billion-dollar expansion, the Houston
Chronicle reported.
The Sweeny and Orange locations are emerging as front runners, according to Garland, because the Cedar Bayou location in Baytown already has an ethane cracker and could face limitations in permitting. Cedar Bayou is also close to an ExxonMobil ethane cracker in the area.
Chevron and Phillips 66 are expected to make a final investment decision on the expansion project next year, and potentially start up the new facility in 2023 or 2024, Garland said.
Source: oilprice.com
PURC Sensitizes Editors On Tariff Determination Processes
Dr. Simons Yao Akorli, Director for Regulatory Economics at PURC answering a question from the press
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has sensitised some selected editors of media organisations in the country on the Commission’s mandate as far as tariffs setting is concerned.
The objective of the media engagement was to afford the Commission the opportunity to walk the media through some form of education for them to be abreast with issues.
The Director for Regulatory Economics at the PURC, Dr Simons Yao Akorli, took the editors through a presentation on Tariff Settings: An insight into PURC’s Tariff Determination Process and Tariff Decision Factors.
In his presentation, Dr Simons Akorli noted that ACT 538 Act 1997, which establishes the Commission, required PURC to hold consultations with key stakeholders and receive proposals from utility companies.He said these proposals were subjected to the Commission’s benchmark indicators before arriving at a decision on how much consumers are supposed to pay.
The presentation touched on PURC’s Automatic Tariff Adjustment Policy and Methodology, Methodology for Determination of Utilities Revenue Requirement, Cost Recovery/Cost Reflectivity, Revenue Stability/Reasonable Returns, Economic Efficiency, Electricity Generation Revenue Requirement, Composite Bulk Generation Tariff Determination Flow Chart and Tariff/Rate Allocation: Equity Issues.
ENI And Sonatrach Renew Gas Supply Deal
Italian oil and gas giant Eni and Algerian Sonatrach have extended their gas supply contract until 2027.
Eni said on Thursday that the two companies had signed agreements to renew the gas supply contract to import Algerian gas into Italy until 2027 – plus two further optional years – also defining the transportation arrangements through the pipeline crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
According to ENI, these agreements follow in the steps of a partnership on gas supply and transportation that was established more than 40 years ago, encompassing major pipeline projects and many decades of successful supply to Italy.
It is worth reminding that ENI and Sonatrach last April signed a memorandum of understanding to “confirm their willingness to come soon to the renewal of the gas supply contract and the transportation arrangements through the pipeline crossing the Mediterranean Sea for the forthcoming years.”
ENI’s CEO, Claudio Descalzi, commented: “I am particularly pleased with the renewal of the gas supply contract and the level of the strategic partnership with Sonatrach which spans from the exploration and production sector, to gas marketing and transportation, to renewables”.
ENI noted that today’s agreement covers almost 15% of the gas imported into Italy.
Vibrant TOR key To ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ Agenda — Isaac Osei
The Managing Director of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Isaac Osei, has made a strong case for a percentage of crude oil produced in the country to be given to the state-owned refinery to process into final products for domestic consumption.
He said doing that would make TOR functional, vibrant and strategically positioned to help realise President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s vision of building a Ghana Beyond Aid — an economy that is self-sustaining and non-reliant on aid from partners.
He further called for strong synergies between the upstream and the downstream sectors to ensure that TOR was well equipped and supported with products to wean the country off its huge dependence on imported refined products, a key deliverable of the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda.
He said Ghanaians would better appreciate the real benefits of Ghana as an oil producer when a percentage of locally produced crude oil was refined by the state-owned refinery.
The TOR MD was speaking at a special panel put together by the Ministry of Energy to discuss issues affecting Ghana’s energy sector.
It was on the sidelines of the recently concluded Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas.
‘Paradox’
Touching on the important roles played by both the upstream and the downstream sectors, Ghana’s former High Commissioner to the UK and Ambassador to Ireland said the current situation where Ghana sold all its crude oil on the international market, while the national refiner shopped around for crude oil to refine into finished products, left much to be desired.
That, he said, did not necessarily gave Ghanaians the confidence and the excitement they were supposed to have in the fact that Ghana was now a crude oil producer.
“For many Ghanaians, this is a paradox that the government has to resolve,” he said.
“Ghana has discovered crude oil in commercial quantities and this should translate into the state refiner being provided a portion of such crude as its feed stock.
“The people of Ghana and the government as a whole will benefit a great deal and the government’s agenda of a Ghana Beyond Aid will be given an additional boost if the right structures are put in place and TOR is made to refine local crude oil from the Tweneboa-Enyera-Ntomme (TEN), the Jubilee and or the Sankofa fields as feed stock,” he said.
He explained that TOR had, in the past, refined crude oil from TEN, adding that it “gave us good yields in terms of finished products”.
“So refining crude oil from the Jubilee and the Sankofa fields should not be a problem for TOR.
The TOR plants are designed to process light sweet crude oil and the oil from all these fields is light sweet,” he said.
Should TOR be given domestically produced crude to process, the MD said, it would “ensure energy product security on the Ghanaian market”.
He said it would also “boost the confidence of Ghanaians, in that the nation is adding value to its own resources”.
Financial implications
Mr Osei, however, noted that he was not oblivious of the financial implications of giving domestically produced crude to TOR to process.
He thus recommended that a well-structured financial model should be put in place by the government and its strategic partners to support such a move.
Source:graphic.com.gh
Saudi Aramco Restarts Oil Pipeline After Drone Attack
Saudi Aramco restarted pumping oil on Wednesday through the pipeline which was hit by drone attacks on Tuesday, Arab media report.
Two pumping stations along Aramco’s East-West oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia were attacked by explosive-laden drones in the early morning local time on Tuesday, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported yesterday, citing Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, who described the attack as one of “terrorism and sabotage.”
The drones laden with explosives targeted the pump stations on the pipeline which carries oil from eastern Saudi Arabia to the Yanbu port.
Saudi Aramco issued a statement on Tuesday, saying that the sabotage caused minor damage and a fire at one of the pumping stations.
Aramco temporarily shut down the pipeline yesterday as a precautionary measure and noted that no injuries or fatalities were reported.
The company’s oil and gas supplies haven’t been impacted as a result of the incident either, it said.
“Mr. Al-Falih confirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemns this cowardly attack, emphasizing that this act of terrorism and sabotage in addition to recent acts in the Arabian Gulf do not only target the Kingdom but also the security of world oil supplies and the global economy.
These attacks prove again that it is important for us to face terrorist entities, including the Houthi militias in Yemen that are backed by Iran,” the official Saudi agency said on Tuesday.
This statement came out hours after Houthi-owned TV Almasirah reported that “7 Drones have targeted vital Saudi facilities.”
Reports of the drone attack on Saudi Aramco’s oil infrastructure came a day after Saudi Arabia said that two of its oil tankers were attacked by saboteurs near the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while the UAE said that a total four vessels were attacked off its coast at the port of Fujairah.
The heightened security concerns and the potential threat to global oil supplies in the Middle East lifted oil prices on Monday and early Tuesday, outweighing concerns about an escalating U.S.-China trade war and slowing global economic growth. A large crude build reported by API later on Tuesday, however, weighed down on oil prices, which were still down just before the EIA’s inventory report release on Wednesday.
Source: Oilprice.com
SA: Solar Process Heat Plant To Save Energy Costs For Wits University Residences
A solar initiative titled Southern African Solar Thermal Training and Demonstration Initiative (SOLTRAIN) was officially launched in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
These SOLTRAIN projects, a district heating plant for Wits University residences and a solar process heat plant for the Klein Karoo International (KKI) tannery, is expected to save millions in energy costs over the lifetime of the plants.
SOLTRAIN in South Africa is managed by the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies at Stellenbosch University, and the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), in partnership with AEE-Institute for Sustainable Technologies (AEE INTEC) from Austria.
SOLTRAIN – is a regional initiative on capacity building and demonstration of solar thermal systems in the SADC region.
It is funded by the Austrian Development Agency and co-funded by the OPEC Fund for International Development.
The launch follows the fourth SOLTRAIN Conference, held on 14 May 2019 in South Africa, for all SADC project partners and opened for free attendance to the solar sector.
Cedi Appreciation To Hold Fuel Cost Same
Press Release by Institute of Energy Security (IES)
REVIEW OF MAY 2019 FIRST PRICING-WINDOW
Local Fuel Market Performance
Prices of petroleum products did not experience any movements within the first pricing-window of May 2019. The window saw Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) selling Gasoline and Gasoil at an average price of Ghc5.24 and Ghc5.22 respectively. It must be noted that whereas prices remained largely unchanged across board, some OMCs, such as Frimps Oil reviewed their prices downwards to compete for larger market share. As a result, Frimps Oil, Benab Oil and Pacific Oil sell the least-priced fuel on the market relative to other OMCs per IES Market-Scan. They are followed by Star Oil and SO Energy.
World Oil Market
Geopolitical developments around the world continue to weigh on the oil market putting traders in readiness for any eventuality, including but not limited to Iran’s possible withdrawal from the 2015 Nuclear deal, Venezuela’s U.S sanction effects, and the final outcome of the back-and-forth U.S-China trade talks. Iran says its nuclear compliance is contingent on 1.5 mb/d oil exports, which U.S hopes to cut down to zero. Iran told EU diplomats that it needs to export as much as 1.5 mb/d in order for it to stay in the 2015 nuclear deal, while U.S warns “there will be consequences” should Iran resume nuclear activities. On the trade talks, U.S and China have imposed over 260 billion worth of tariffs on each other’s goods and services as outcome of talks remains unpredictable. In the midst of these developments, the oil market, to the surprise of Analysts, saw average Brent Crude fall marginally from $72.1 per barrel $71.38 per barrel representing a percentage drop of 0.94%. On the contrary, Standard and Poor’s Global Platts benchmark for finished product showed both Gasoline and Gasoil prices went up marginally by 1.24% and 0.09% respectively. Gasoline closed trading at $718.189 per metric ton, from its previous price of $709.42 per metric ton. Gasoil also saw a slight increment from $636.39 per metric ton to $636.97 per metric ton.
Local Forex
IES data collected and analyzed indicates the Cedi appreciated against the Dollar ($) within the window under review. The dollar currently trades at Ghc5.15 as against Ghc5.21 in the previous window implying a 1.15% appreciation. This will be about the third consecutive window of strength for the local currency against the U.S Dollar.
IES PROJECTIONS FOR MAY 2019 SECOND PRICING-WINDOW
Fuel prices at the pump for May 2019 second Pricing-window is not expected to change due largely to the nearly consistent strength the local currency has shown thus far. The Cedi’s appreciation against the U.S Dollar could render the marginal increment in prices of finished products on the international market negligible to be passed on to the final consumer. Whereas Gasoline went up 1.24% and Gasoil shot up 0.09%, the market could play out favourably for consumers because of the gain of 1.15% the Cedi recorded against the U.S Dollar. It is important to note that while IES anticipates prices to remain unchanged due to the above, it is possible for some OMCs to reduce their prices in order to maintain or expand their market share in line with market realities as Frimps Oil did in the last window.
Signed: MIKDAD MOHAMMED
Research Analyst, IES ([email protected])
PDS Cautions Public Against Loose Conductors
As the rains set in, the Power Distribution Services (PDS) has cautioned the public to stay away from fallen or loose electrical conductors.
According to PDS, such fallen electrical conductors may be live and, therefore, could endanger one’s life.
PDS gave the warning in a release issued to alert consumers of the possibility of some areas experiencing power outages because of rainstorm.
Experts Mull Over Eskom’s Future As South Africa Awaits IRPl
Whilst South Africans may still be relatively in the dark over the release date of the updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) outlining the country’s future energy plans, experts on Tuesday agreed the future of energy in South Africa will be very different.
Energy experts Ted Blom and Dr Grové Steyn, who serves on the Presidential Task Team on Eskom, partook in a panel discussion at the African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa conference and exhibition in Cape Town covering issues relating to the future of Eskom, the planned unbundling of the utility and energy in a future with climate change.
Blom did not mince words. “Eskom’s governance has collapsed. We don’t know who is running Eskom because it certainly does not look like it is the board. All it can be is a third force,” he said.
“We simply do not know who is held responsible because it is not maintained properly and not run properly. So, in terms of Eskom of the future – it’s already dead in the morgue. All we are throwing money at is for more people to be corrupt,” he added.
Blom also called Eskom’s debt burden a “fallacy”. “They want you (taxpayers) to pay this debt but 75% of that debt is not due and that is why I have called for a forensic investigation.”
Blom said corruption and mismanagement is well entrenched in Eskom. According to him South Africans are made to believe the money (debt) is due to Eskom but more than three quarter of this monies are due to corruption and mismanagement.
He noted the Medupi Power plant as example. In 2008 the quote for building Medupi was R33 billion, he said.
“A year ago, I went back to Eskom to verify that amount and today Medupi is running at R170 billion for a half-finished project. If that is not corruption and mismanagement, then I don’t know what is and I don’t understand why we have to pay for that,” Blom stated.
Eskom in debt trap
But for Steyn the debt trap is very real. “Eskom is indeed in a debt trap. It is now being bailed out by government almost on a monthly basis and even the R23 billion allocated in the budget is not going to be enough to fill the gap and get Eskom out of the debt trap.
“So, it is quite serious, and it means we will have to start thinking outside the box and find a range of solutions to help ensure – given Eskom’s systemic role in the economy – we do not end up in a situation where we have a full on default on debt.”
Steyn also remarked on Eskom’s relevance in the future where the energy space is more competitive.
“[The] Eskom of large-scale coal-fired power stations is not the future anymore,” he said.
Steyn said as the technological economic paradigm changes, the cheapest power does not necessarily come from large coal-faced power plants but from smaller scale renewable projects.
“If Eskom is not going to be the only party generating power (in the future), what will Eskom look like? That is an important question we do not have an answer for,” he stated.
Steyn alluded to an Eskom with a changed business model. “Around the world traditional large-scale utilities have been successful in changing their business models and becoming players in the renewable energy space but that is a radical change that will require drastic changes in Eskom. The parts of Eskom that runs the grid and the distribution business, will of course continue to exist and will be very important for our future.”
Delays with the IRP
Blom in an earlier interview also took aim at the delays with the IRP which is supposed to give clearer direction on the country’s energy plans.
He labelled it a disaster. “There is too much political meddling and the plan has been rewritten and rewritten. I understand the labour sector is not happy and that is mainly because government is not transparent in how it is going about the IRP.”
Blom said the IRP should be a basic exercise and be redone annually with no big surprises. “It’s a disgusting disaster. Our future relies on it. We need certainty and transparency and not attempts to hide behind the IRP to play to secret agendas of third forces. That is not acceptable,” he said.
The African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa conference and exhibition ends Thursday.