State-owned entity Eskom is undertaking a just energy transition (JET) strategy and pursuing repurposing and repowering of some of its coal-fired power stations, separate from decommissioning them. It will also see the company extend the deadline for the decommissioning of some coal-fired power stations, while loadshedding could potentially also worsen as it undertakes necessary maintenance during the summer months.

This was indicated by Eskom JET GM Dr Vikesh Rajpaul on October 5, when delivering one of the keynote addresses during the second day of the Joburg Indaba.

“Our objective is to achieve long-term sustainability and thereby effectively deliver on our mandate to provide electricity and power to South Africa. We continue to drive generation recovery initiatives that are aimed at preventing the current performance from deteriorating in the short term and improving the overall performance of the generation fleet in the long term,” he outlined.

Rajpaul emphasised that Eskom wanted to ensure that the existing power stations had an improved performance and to sustain this while the performance of other units was gradually improving.

“We are increasing planned maintenance in the summer months, and the consequences of this will be the possibility of increased stages of loadshedding. We endeavour to minimise and subsequently put an end to loadshedding, but not at all costs, certainly not at the expense of the already ailing generation fleet. Therefore, we will not compromise on planned maintenance,” he emphasised.

To remain relevant and fit for purpose, Rajpaul said Eskom was pursuing a JET strategy which sought to offer a second life to its power stations at the end of both economic and technical life.

He said Eskom’s JET strategy could enable it to plug the supply-demand gap sooner and in a more cost-effective manner, given that renewable energy had been proven to be the fastest way to bring in new capacity and thereby reduce the risk of loadshedding.

However, he emphasised that the transition must be done in a manner that is socially just and sensitive to potential impacts on jobs and local economies.

“As a result of the energy crisis, and the country’s inability to add new generating capacity, we are currently exploring options for continued operation of all coal-fired stations beyond the anticipated decommissioning dates to allow the country some breathing space to add new generating capacity,” Rajpaul informed.

“This does not entail a life extension, but rather, sweating of the assets and delaying the shutdown,” he explained.

Rajpaul said that, through the JET strategy, Eskom could put carbon emissions into a structural decline, while growing the economy by creating sustainable jobs in the country.

He said that while the country explored opportunities to adjust to the energy crisis, Eskom had decided to decouple station decommissioning from repurposing and repowering.

“We have completed socioeconomic impact assessments to understand the impact of station shutdowns, but, importantly, to understand the opportunities that present themselves as we transition to a new economy,” Rajpaul averred.

He said Eskom had begun development of new renewables in the form of solar photovoltaic (PV), wind, battery energy storage and synchronous condensers at its power stations.

He emphasised that, importantly, in the decision to decouple the station decommissioning from its repowering and repurposing initiatives, the intention is for Eskom to have continued economic activity at those power stations so that there is no repetition of what happened at Komati power station.

Here, he acknowledged that Eskom should have acted sooner, and plans should have been in place with community members, in terms of new generation capacity, and in terms of new economic activities, before the last unit was brought offline.

He said the company would implement lessons learned from Komati at other power stations, that is, it intended having economic activity to provide a second life to these, and to support the communities and engender a smooth JET.

In this vein, he said that Eskom would shortly issue a request for proposals to the market for a 75 MW solar PV plant at the Lethabo power station in the Free State; and is also looking at a 100 MW PV plant at Komati that will be going out to the market in the near future.

Rajpaul also said that Eskom was accelerating the development of the transmission grid in the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape provinces to enable the addition of new generation capacity from independent power producers. “The debt relief by government is helpful in this regard,” he highlighted.

Rajpaul pointed out that the utility’s transmission development plan called for the building of 14 000 km of new transmission lines over the next ten years. He said Eskom teams continued to evaluate and finalise network plans in areas with strong transmission network capacity, especially in Mpumalanga, the North West and the Free State.

“These parts of the country have potential to accommodate additional capacity at a relatively short period because we have the established transmission infrastructure in place. “This is particularly so at some of the older power stations that will be retired, making transmission capacity available for cleaner energy sources.

“This potentially also paves the way for virtual wheeling arrangements,” Rajpaul said.