Tuesday
20 October 2020: Today, Eskom shared its Transmission
Development Plan (TDP) for the period 2021 to 2030 with various stakeholders
during a public forum hosted online. This is part of Eskom’s Transmission
licence requirements issued by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa
(NERSA), which calls for Eskom to publish a TDP annually.
This
forum forms part of a consultative process where industry, various business
sectors, local government, and other infrastructure development partners, get
to influence the long-term development plan of the transmission system.
Segomoco
Scheppers, Group Executive for Transmission, says, “Through our TDP, we aim to
increase the transmission infrastructure by approximately 5 650 km of
high-voltage lines and 41 595 MVA of transformer capacity in the next 10 years.
A significant number of investments are required to strengthen the transmission
grid to accommodate the new generation capacity in accordance with the IRP2019.
Some adjustments have been made to the TDP since its last publication in 2019,
which include the re-phasing of capital investment in transmission projects to
align them with the project execution timelines that are associated with servitude
acquisitions and current available funding.”
As
a state-owned entity, Eskom understands the critical role it plays in enabling
South Africa’s economic recovery efforts because without reliable electricity,
there can be no sustainable economic recovery or growth.
Since
the publication of the last TDP in 2019, a number of transmission substations
and transformer capacity enhancement projects were commissioned in support of
the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) Programme.
This was in conjunction with network strengthening for the commissioning of the
Eskom generation, network reliability and the integration of committed
customers. Thirteen additional IPP projects in Bid Window 4 were integrated
into the national transmission grid, providing approximately 866 MW of energy.
The successful integration of these IPP projects was underpinned by investments
in new substations and transformer capacity enhancements, mainly in the
Northern Cape.
“There
is a clear and compelling case for significant transmission network expansion
critical for the connection of utility-scale renewable generation projects,
mainly wind and solar, in line with policy direction highlighted in the IRP2019
and the Grid Code, namely, to diversify the country’s energy mix and to provide
non-discriminatory access to the grid.
Over this planning period, 30 GW of new generation capacity, mainly from
renewable energy sources (PV and wind) is expected to be added to the power
system. The bulk of the new renewable generation capacity is located in areas
with very limited network infrastructure. In order to provide an adequate and
reliable transmission system, the total Transmission capital plan in this
period amounts to approximately R118 billion. This is mainly associated with
network requirements for the new anticipated generation capacity, to meet the
future demand growth in the country, to ensure reliability and security of
supply, and to sustain the existing and ageing transmission network
infrastructure that requires substantial investments in refurbishments as
well,” said Scheppers.
ENDS