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Released January 14, 2015 | JOHANNESBURG
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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Johannesburg, South Africa)--Grudgingly, the South African public is being forced to come to terms with the basic facts of power supply and technology. As the country's industry and commerce ramps up after the summer holidays, the threat of load shedding looms. Last week, two 600-megawatt (MW) units went off the national grid, exacerbating the razor thin power reserve margins. More generating unit failures can be anticipated as the pressured and aging system gasps for required maintenance time.
The project that was promised to bring relief to the grid supply, state-owned national power utility Eskom's (Sunninghill, South Africa) 4,800-MW Medupi power station, is now experiencing a new set of problems, which make it impossible for Eskom to conduct blow-through testing of the first Hitachi (Tokyo, Japan) boiler at the steam speed, volume and turbulence factor that is required in the international VGB guidelines and contract specifications in order to achieve the necessary levels of inlet steam cleanliness to the steam valve and turbine.
The first 800-MW Medupi unit was originally scheduled for commissioning in 2011. The latest estimates range from the end of February to June this year.
As a result of an inadequate design of the temporary piping that blows steam into the atmosphere, Eskom has been unable to achieve blow-through at the specified steam conditions to achieve the required levels of steam cleanliness.
Eskom appears to have abandoned proceeding by industry standards and has decided on the connection of the final steam piping and other commissioning, such as testing of the boiler, turbine and generator systems. Filters are being put in the boiler system to eliminate any foreign particulates and debris.
Faced with the prospect of funds running out at the end of this month, Eskom is looking for $1.8 billion from the government, but this would be a short-term stop gap. Existing guarantees would allow the utility to borrow $22 billion in the next five years, and higher tariffs will produce more income, but not in time to face urgent problems.
Diesel to feed open-cycle generators, designed to be used in short bursts in peak demand conditions, are costing about $90 million a month as they are kept running in a 12-hour daily base load mode. The diesel-fed units are generating power at about 26 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) against normal electricity operating costs of about 5.4 cents/kWh.
As industry, commerce and the population in general feel the strain of uncertain power supplies, national Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene has addressed the problem in no uncertain terms, saying Eskom must sort out its problems, which are hurting the economy. He said Eskom was best suited to deal with operational and day-to-day issues, for which the government is not able to offer help. "It's not about bailout. The issue here is to ensure that there is a medium- to long-term plan to ensure that Eskom is in a good situation," he said.
In a dramatic move, the country's Department of Energy (DoE) has issued a formal appeal for companies and individuals to provide the utility with information on possible near-term solutions to reduce or shift electricity demand and to immediately improve supply. Response to this appeal, with a submission deadline of February 2, will guide the design of future procurement processes.
Facing a daily shortfall of between 3,000 and 5,000 megawatts (MW), the request for information (RFI) is seeking input from independent demand-response aggregators, developers of innovative demand-side management projects and distribution generators. But the DoE stresses that the RFI will not be used as a basis for prequalification.
There are also a number of ex-Eskom top executives and technical managers who are rumored to be testing the water to see if their assistance will be welcome in the power crisis, after being cold-shouldered by Eskom and the government during the past few years.
For related information see December 2, 2014, article - South Africa's Eskom Battles Murphy's Law at Mega Projects.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
The project that was promised to bring relief to the grid supply, state-owned national power utility Eskom's (Sunninghill, South Africa) 4,800-MW Medupi power station, is now experiencing a new set of problems, which make it impossible for Eskom to conduct blow-through testing of the first Hitachi (Tokyo, Japan) boiler at the steam speed, volume and turbulence factor that is required in the international VGB guidelines and contract specifications in order to achieve the necessary levels of inlet steam cleanliness to the steam valve and turbine.
The first 800-MW Medupi unit was originally scheduled for commissioning in 2011. The latest estimates range from the end of February to June this year.
As a result of an inadequate design of the temporary piping that blows steam into the atmosphere, Eskom has been unable to achieve blow-through at the specified steam conditions to achieve the required levels of steam cleanliness.
Eskom appears to have abandoned proceeding by industry standards and has decided on the connection of the final steam piping and other commissioning, such as testing of the boiler, turbine and generator systems. Filters are being put in the boiler system to eliminate any foreign particulates and debris.
Faced with the prospect of funds running out at the end of this month, Eskom is looking for $1.8 billion from the government, but this would be a short-term stop gap. Existing guarantees would allow the utility to borrow $22 billion in the next five years, and higher tariffs will produce more income, but not in time to face urgent problems.
Diesel to feed open-cycle generators, designed to be used in short bursts in peak demand conditions, are costing about $90 million a month as they are kept running in a 12-hour daily base load mode. The diesel-fed units are generating power at about 26 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) against normal electricity operating costs of about 5.4 cents/kWh.
As industry, commerce and the population in general feel the strain of uncertain power supplies, national Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene has addressed the problem in no uncertain terms, saying Eskom must sort out its problems, which are hurting the economy. He said Eskom was best suited to deal with operational and day-to-day issues, for which the government is not able to offer help. "It's not about bailout. The issue here is to ensure that there is a medium- to long-term plan to ensure that Eskom is in a good situation," he said.
In a dramatic move, the country's Department of Energy (DoE) has issued a formal appeal for companies and individuals to provide the utility with information on possible near-term solutions to reduce or shift electricity demand and to immediately improve supply. Response to this appeal, with a submission deadline of February 2, will guide the design of future procurement processes.
Facing a daily shortfall of between 3,000 and 5,000 megawatts (MW), the request for information (RFI) is seeking input from independent demand-response aggregators, developers of innovative demand-side management projects and distribution generators. But the DoE stresses that the RFI will not be used as a basis for prequalification.
There are also a number of ex-Eskom top executives and technical managers who are rumored to be testing the water to see if their assistance will be welcome in the power crisis, after being cold-shouldered by Eskom and the government during the past few years.
For related information see December 2, 2014, article - South Africa's Eskom Battles Murphy's Law at Mega Projects.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
