State-owned power utility Eskom will embark on a project known as '2010 virtual power station (VPS)', in order to make an extra 2010 MW of electricity available for the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup, MD 2010 (CEO's office) Eskom, Johnny Dladla said.

The VPS involves a number of initiatives that will each add a certain amount of electricity to cater for the demand during the event.

Dladla commented that the 2 010 MW created would be "over and above what Eskom is bringing back by 2010" - by demothballing some its power stations.

The 2 010 MW will be created by various methods including municipal load control, such as turning off geysers at key sites surrounding hospitality infrastructure, for example, which should create 100 MW of electricity and onsite generators which will provide about 100 MW of uninterrupted power supply to stadiums, training venues and media centres.

The utility's wind farm, located in the Cape and due to become operational in mid-2009, is expected to add some 100 MW by 2010.

A dedicated power alert, a television information service which shows electricity usage, is projected to add 100 MW and dedicated demand-side management (DSM) is expected to create 100 MW of power.

The bulk of the capacity, 700 MW each, will come from Eskom and customer capacity management. Dladla explained that the utility would also look at reducing the amount of electricity that it exports to the Southern African Power Pool during the World Cup event.

Speaking at the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (formerly South African Chamber of Business) Dladla encouraged the chamber to contribute through DSM initiatives, electricity consumption reduction and registration of available onsite generators.

Eskom will spend R94-billion up until 2010, out of its R150-billion five-year plan, in a build-up to the FIFA World Cup. Dladla noted that R10-billion will be spent to fast-track projects for 2010.

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