Frequently Asked Questions

Has the Power Crisis got your head in a spin? What's the difference between a megawatt and a kilowatt? How many power stations does SA have? We try and answer all your questions.

1. Can someone please explain this crisis to me in a nutshell?

Click here to find out all you need to know about the power crisis in SA.

2. How much power does the country need to operate?

According to Eskom (as of 20 January 2008), South Africa's peak demand has reached 36 700MW, while Eskom is able to supply 38 500MW.

While this technically means Eskom can produce more power than required, Eskom also requires a reserve energy supply. International best practice dictates power companies must have the capacity to generate 15 percent over and above what is actually needed.

3. When is the power crisis expected to end?

In the short term, load shedding is expected to continue for as long as is necessary to help alleviate the problem around the country. Eskom and Government are also in the process of planning for the rationing of electricity, as well as 'pre-emptive load curtailment', whereby supply is cut from predetermined areas at predetermined times on a regular basis.

In late January 2008, Eskom announced power rationing would need to continue until at least July, saying it urgently needed to reduce demand by 4 000MW. A National System Stabilisation Plan, which will kick in at the end of February or beginning of March 2008, will call on consumers to cut their consumption by at least 10%.

Eskom does not expect to have enough new and mothballed power stations online to adequately address the problem before 2012 at the earliest.

4. What does the term 'load shedding' really mean? Is it the same thing as a blackout or a brownout?

Load shedding is defined as the removal of pre-selected customer demand from a power system, as a result of the occurrence of an abnormal condition, in a effort to maintain the integrity of the system and minimize overall customer outages.

A blackout is defined as the emergency loss of the source of electricity serving an area caused by failure of the generation, transmission or distribution system and a brownout is defined as the partial reduction of electrical voltages caused by customer demand being higher than anticipated or by the failure of the generation, transmission or distribution system, resulting in lights dimming and motor-driven devices slowing down.

Source: www.spectraenergy.com/investors/glossary/

5. Was there really a Government White Paper published in 1998 that warned the country would run out of power in 2007?

In December 1998, a report called "White Paper on the Energy Policy of the Republic of South Africa" was published by the Government.

On page 41 of the report it states "...growth in electricity demand is only projected to exceed generation capacity by approximately the year 2007... long capacity-expansion lead times require strategies to be in place in the mid-term, in order to meet the needs of the growing economy".

Click here to access the full report

6. What's all this about "wet coal"?

According to reports, up to 88% of Eskom's electricity supply is fired by coal. South Africa is the world's sixth-largest supplier of coal - we use only a low-grade form of the fossil fuel in our power plants, and export our higher grade coal.

The issue of "wet coal" is a complicated one. Wet coal is not incombustible - it contains a percentage of water when it comes out the ground - however it does burn differently. Some experts say the real problem of wet coal is a transportation one - wet coal breaks apart much more easily than dry coal during transportation.

7. Does Eskom really supply neighbouring countries with electricity?

According to Eskom, 95% of generated power supply is used within South Africa, with the rest reportedly exported to Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

A Fin24 article (18 January 2008) reported "information obtained by Solidarity shows that Eskom currently exports 3 000MW of electricity to neighbouring countries. This almost equals the entire output of one SA power station" however it was reported just days later (20 January 2008) that Eskom had pulled the plug on its neighbours. Hours later, reports emerged of major blackouts hitting Zimbabwe and Zambia almost simultaneously. Swaziland, which gets about 80% of its power from South Africa, has also had to start looking elsewhere for power.

Eskom spokesperson Sipho Neke has been reported as saying, "when we don't have enough capacity for domestic use we don't sell electricity. There is no surplus so there are no exports."

In the wake of these power cuts to neighbouring countries, Mozambique has emerged as a potential supplier of electricity for the region, with both Swaziland and Botswana looking to use their surplus supply. South Africa is also currently buying electricity from Mozambique.

8. How many power stations are there in South Africa, and how much power do they produce each?

Coal-fired
Arnot - 2100 MWe
Duvha - 3600 MWe
Hendrina - 2000 MWe
Kendal - 4116 MWe
Kriel - 3000 MWe
Lethabo - 3708 MWe
Majuba - 4110 MWe
Matimba - 3990 MWe
Matla - 3600 MWe
Tutuka - 3654 MWe
The following stations are in the process of being returned to service after being mothballed in 1990:
Camden - 1600 MWe
Grootvlei - 1200 MWe
Komati - 1000 MWe

Nuclear
Koeberg - 1800 MWe

Hydroelectric and pumped storage
Drakensberg, as part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project - 1000 MWe
Palmiet - 400 MWe
Gariep - 360 MWe
Vanderkloof - 240 MWe

Gas turbines
Acacia - 171 MWe
Port Rex - 171 MWe
Ankerlig (Atlantis Open Cycle Gas Turbines - OCGT) - 588 MWe
Gourikwa (Mossel Bay OCGT) - 438 MWe

Click here for a map of power stations across the country

Source: Eskom.co.za and Wikipedia.org

7. All these electricity terms I'm hearing in the news these days confuse me. Can you help explain them?

Ampere (amp): A unit of electrical current or rate of flow of electrons. One volt across one ohm of resistance causes a current flow of one ampere. Amperes are used by utilities and electrical engineers to measure electrical flow.

Joule (J): A unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second (synonymous with watt-second).

Kilowatt (kW): A standard unit of electrical power equal to 1 000 watts. The term "kilowatt" (in addition to the measurements of "watt" and "megawatt") is commonly used to describe the capacity of an electric generator, particularly in reference to small solar photovoltaic and other generating systems.

Kilowatt-hour (kWh): 1 000 watts or 1 kilowatt acting over a period of 1 hour. One kilowatt-hour is equal to 1 000 watt-hours and is equal to 3 600 kJ. The primary difference between a kilowatt and a kilowatt-hour is that "kilowatt" measures the capacity of an electric generator and "kilowatt-hour" measures the actual amount of electricity it produces over a certain period of time.

Megawatt (MW): A standard unit of electrical power equal to 1 000 kilowatts, or 1 million watts. Like watts and kilowatts, the term "megawatt" is used as a standard measure of electric power plant generating capacity. It is most commonly used for large systems like wind turbines, biomass plants, and coal, natural gas, and nuclear plants.

Megawatt-hour (MWh): 1 megawatt acting over a period of 1 hour. One megawatt-hour is equal to 1 000 kilowatt-hours or 1 million watt-hours. The primary difference between a megawatt and a megawatt-hour is that "megawatt" measures the capacity of an electric generator and "megawatt-hour" measures the actual amount of electricity it produces over a certain period of time.

Ohm: A measure of the electrical resistance of a material equal to the resistance of a circuit in which the potential difference of 1 volt produces a current of 1 ampere. Ohms are used by utilities and electrical engineers to measure the resistance of wires conducting electricity.

Volt: A unit of electrical force equal to the amount of electromotive force that will cause a steady current of one ampere to flow through a resistance of one ohm. High-voltage electricity moves faster than low-voltage electricity, as seen in the difference between high-voltage transmission lines used to move electricity quickly throughout a region and lower-voltage distribution lines used to move electricity directly to customers.

Voltage: The amount of electromotive force, measured in volts, that exists between two points. Voltage is used to describe the amount of power produced by a generator.

Source: www.masstech.org

9. Will the 2010 World Cup be lost to South Africa due to the power crisis

Despite rumours and suggestions to the countrary, Government insists that South Africa's staging of the 2010 World Cup is not at risk due to the power crisis.

It is a Fifa requirement that all stadiums have generators and that all areas of the country that are critical to the Soccer World Cup have secure electricity supplies.

Government cannot, however, guarantee that there won't be power cuts - or load shedding - in other parts of the country during this time.

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