|
To minimise load shedding, Namibians will have to save 20 per cent of their electricity usage, whether they are private households, municipalities or large customers like mining companies, NamPower announced yesterday.
On Sunday South Africa’s power utility Eskom announced it had halted power exports to Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe because local demand had grown so much that it had to supply its own country first.
“NamPower appeals to its customers and the public at large to reduce their electricity usage by about 20 per cent to minimise load shedding,” NamPower’s Managing Director Paulinus Shilamba told a press briefing in Windhoek yesterday.
“With this assistance from our big customers and the implementation of demand-side management (DSM), NamPower will ensure that power interruptions are kept to a minimum.”
Municipalities, the mining industry and the water utility NamWater will be informed a week in advance if DSM, voluntary load shedding and load shifting will take place.
“We will repeat the warning three days before the date and again 24 hours before,” said NamPower’s Chief Operating Officer Bertholdt ua Mbuere.
This means that NamWater will have to switch off some pumps and mining companies will have to reschedule their peak activities, which consume a lot of electricity, to other times of the day.
“Forced load shedding is when Eskom might have a huge power failure or lightning hits a substation,” ua Mbuere explained.
Shilamba assured the public that it was doing all in its power to keep outages to a minimum.
The 120-megawatt coal-fired Van Eck power station in Windhoek is running again, although it costs roughly N$1 million a day to operate it at full capacity.
The Ruacana hydropower station on the Kunene River can deliver 240 MW if the river flowing strongly in the rainy season.
The upstream weir on the Angolan side, which should control the storage dam level to feed the Ruacana station continuously, was damaged nearly 20 years ago by Cuban warplanes during the liberation struggle and it has not been repaired since then.
Namibia has an installed generating capacity of 384 MW and imports roughly 40 per cent of its electricity from South Africa.
Asked whether NamPower could accommodate new mines, ua Mbuere said presently only one new mine, Uramin, would receive electricity soon.
“Any other mining company can only be accommodated around 2009-10.”
Yesterday the NamPower management encouraged the public to use electricity wisely – switch off swimming-pool pumps, change to gas stoves and solar water heaters.
NamPower could not say if the distribution of some 500 000 energy-saving light bulbs to the public last year was having a positive effect.
In South Africa, a multi-billion-dollar aluminium smelter project at the new Coega harbour by Alcan has been put on hold until 2013 because of the Eskom power crisis.
Eskom had already signed a 25-year power-supply agreement for the smelter at the end of 2006 and now faces the payment of penalties to Alcan for not being able to honour that agreement.
Eskom Finance Director Bongani Nqwababa said of the 25-year agreement: “There must be penalties but I am sure they are cheaper than building a power station.”
Last month South African President Thabo Mbeki admitted that his government should have heeded pleas by Eskom several years ago to invest more in electricity generation to keep up with the country’s economic growth.
“When Eskom said to the government: ‘We think we must invest more in terms of electricity generation’, we said no, but all you will be doing is just to build excess capacity,” he said in a speech.
“We said not now, later.
We were wrong.
Eskom was right.
We were wrong.”
President Hifikepunye Pohamba, who opened the first Cabinet session of the year yesterday, also encouraged Namibians save power and turn to renewable energies.
“The provision and availability of electricity is critical for all economic activities.
It is for this reason that this sector continues to enjoy the priority attention of our Government.
“Namibians are particularly encouraged to make use of solar power technology to provide sustainable power for homes, schools and businesses,” the Head of State urged.
“We must be mindful that electricity has become a scarce commodity.
It must be used sparingly,” he added.
Source
|
Michael Paskevicius
Share post:
Brownouts inevitable
BRIGITTE WEIDLICH
NAMPOWER has warned that forced load shedding and time-of-use tariffs for electricity usage at peak times are inevitable.
To minimise load shedding, Namibians will have to save 20 per cent of their electricity usage, whether they are private households, municipalities or large customers like mining companies, NamPower announced yesterday.
On Sunday South Africa’s power utility Eskom announced it had halted power exports to Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe because local demand had grown so much that it had to supply its own country first.
“NamPower appeals to its customers and the public at large to reduce their electricity usage by about 20 per cent to minimise load shedding,” NamPower’s Managing Director Paulinus Shilamba told a press briefing in Windhoek yesterday.
“With this assistance from our big customers and the implementation of demand-side management (DSM), NamPower will ensure that power interruptions are kept to a minimum.”
Municipalities, the mining industry and the water utility NamWater will be informed a week in advance if DSM, voluntary load shedding and load shifting will take place.
“We will repeat the warning three days before the date and again 24 hours before,” said NamPower’s Chief Operating Officer Bertholdt ua Mbuere.
This means that NamWater will have to switch off some pumps and mining companies will have to reschedule their peak activities, which consume a lot of electricity, to other times of the day.
“Forced load shedding is when Eskom might have a huge power failure or lightning hits a substation,” ua Mbuere explained.
Shilamba assured the public that it was doing all in its power to keep outages to a minimum.
The 120-megawatt coal-fired Van Eck power station in Windhoek is running again, although it costs roughly N$1 million a day to operate it at full capacity.
The Ruacana hydropower station on the Kunene River can deliver 240 MW if the river flowing strongly in the rainy season.
The upstream weir on the Angolan side, which should control the storage dam level to feed the Ruacana station continuously, was damaged nearly 20 years ago by Cuban warplanes during the liberation struggle and it has not been repaired since then.
Namibia has an installed generating capacity of 384 MW and imports roughly 40 per cent of its electricity from South Africa.
Asked whether NamPower could accommodate new mines, ua Mbuere said presently only one new mine, Uramin, would receive electricity soon.
“Any other mining company can only be accommodated around 2009-10.”
Yesterday the NamPower management encouraged the public to use electricity wisely – switch off swimming-pool pumps, change to gas stoves and solar water heaters.
NamPower could not say if the distribution of some 500 000 energy-saving light bulbs to the public last year was having a positive effect.
In South Africa, a multi-billion-dollar aluminium smelter project at the new Coega harbour by Alcan has been put on hold until 2013 because of the Eskom power crisis.
Eskom had already signed a 25-year power-supply agreement for the smelter at the end of 2006 and now faces the payment of penalties to Alcan for not being able to honour that agreement.
Eskom Finance Director Bongani Nqwababa said of the 25-year agreement: “There must be penalties but I am sure they are cheaper than building a power station.”
Last month South African President Thabo Mbeki admitted that his government should have heeded pleas by Eskom several years ago to invest more in electricity generation to keep up with the country’s economic growth.
“When Eskom said to the government: ‘We think we must invest more in terms of electricity generation’, we said no, but all you will be doing is just to build excess capacity,” he said in a speech.
“We said not now, later.
We were wrong.
Eskom was right.
We were wrong.”
President Hifikepunye Pohamba, who opened the first Cabinet session of the year yesterday, also encouraged Namibians save power and turn to renewable energies.
“The provision and availability of electricity is critical for all economic activities.
It is for this reason that this sector continues to enjoy the priority attention of our Government.
“Namibians are particularly encouraged to make use of solar power technology to provide sustainable power for homes, schools and businesses,” the Head of State urged.
“We must be mindful that electricity has become a scarce commodity.
It must be used sparingly,” he added.
Source
Share this:
Like this:
Best of the Best Namibia
I am leaving Namibia and in a way very sad to be doing so. Namibia is an absolutely beautiful country with wonderfully diverse, well spirited, and warm people. Below is. read more…
Share this:
Like this:
Continue Reading
Rotaract Fun Day
The Auas Rotaract club in Windhoek had a year end fun day for the children of Hope Village Namibia. We had 53 children join us at the Katatura Swimming pool. read more…
Share this:
Like this:
Continue Reading
Kims Birthday Party at Nice
Yes Kim’s birthday was in fact at the begging of this month. However she was so plagued with exams that the party had to be moved till month end. Lots. read more…
Share this:
Like this:
Continue Reading
Making Traditional Southern African Roosterbrood
One of my favorite traditional Namibian (or Southern African) foods discovered in the last three years is Roosterbrood. I remember the first time I had it at a bbq. It. read more…
Share this:
Like this:
Continue Reading