With the country having gone just over a month without power cuts, many agricultural organisations, experts, and farmers have questioned the sudden “availability” of electricity. Farmers are grateful for the uninterrupted power supply but wonder how long the good news will last.
The head of the energy secretariat at the South African National Energy Development Institute, Professor Sampson Mamphweli, explained the reason behind the steady supply of power is because the electricity demand has been low, with the peak demand being between 24 000 and 26 000 megawatts (MW).
“There has been an increase in generation capacity mainly from rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV), households, and businesses [which] installed about 6 000 MW of rooftop solar PV. This is removing a huge load from the grid during the day, leaving Eskom with enough electricity to generate reserves for use during the evening peaks,” he said.
Genuine improvement
Mamphweli explained that as the country is getting into the cold months, the strength of the power utility is going to be tested to the limit as South Africa has not had load shedding suspended for such a long time.
“This may change as we approach winter because the solar panels may struggle in winter. The energy availability factor for the coal fleet has increased to about 61%; this is due to the maintenance work that Eskom has been doing in line with the President’s Energy Action Plan. Units that have been maintained have been reliable when returned to service,” Mamphweli said.
Meanwhile, farmer Tsholofelo Tshabangu from Hammanskraal north of Pretoria, said they consistently face hot and arid weather conditions that place her crops at risk.
As a farmer who is intensely dependent on her irrigation systems, it is important to keep her soil and crops hydrated during periods of intense heat.
“Without the load shedding lately, our production has increased. We even managed to deliver another load of crops to Pick n Pay in Jubilee Mall, Hammanskraal.
“It feels good, it finally feels like things are working out for me as a farmer. It’s one of those moments where we look back and smile because finally there’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.
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Good news so far
For Free State grain farmer Phaladi Matsole, there has been a huge positive impact without load shedding for a full month. He said while there has been relief with power cuts, he would like to see the entire agricultural value chain being exempted from load shedding.
“Imagine the whole country without food or clothing for two hours. Food and clothing are products of agriculture thus they must be excluded from load shedding like schools and hospitals.
“The licensing of independent power producers (IPP) should be a priority, it cannot wait, it should be done as in yesterday,” he added.
The chief executive officer of the African Poultry Producers, Kobedi Pilane, shared the same sentiments as Matsole, detailing that the suspension of load shedding has been a welcome relief for the majority of farmers.
He said the period has given producers some hope for better business opportunities to improve their production, adding that they can now plan better and look forward to better quality products.
“There has not been much change with electricity costs; obviously there are some savings with diesel costs for generators and predictability in work schedules. There is some savings in energy costs.
“Our thoughts on government effort to address load shedding, is that it’s about time and it’s appreciated. It seems like things will only get better with a reliable electricity supply,” Pilane said.
What can SA expect?
Pilane believes that the policies that have been put in place are very good, however, they have to be implemented fully to see them through.
“Renewable energy sources have a place and they will make a huge difference for farmers in reducing reliance on the grid and reduce pressure on Eskom to keep up with the increasing demands for reliable electricity supply,” he said.
The power utility said load shedding remains suspended until further notice due to ongoing sustained improvements in generation performance.
“Over the past few weeks there has been a consistent and significant improvement in curbing unplanned outages – technically known as the unplanned capacity loss factor (UCLF), due to the success of the generation operational recovery plan which commenced in March 2023.
“The unplanned outages are on a downward trajectory and are better compared to the same period last year. From 26 April 2024 to date, unplanned outages have reduced by close to 4 400MW from 15 523MW to 11 036MW,” Eskom said in a statement.
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