POWER CRISIS IN THE WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA
July 2006
South Africa is one of the few countries in the world today that are still heavily reliant on fossil  fuels. According to the Department of Minerals and Energy, 79% of primary energy in South Africa is generated through coal. The country is also Africa’s largest consumer of energy and the second largest energy producer (see the Country Analysis). In 1998 the South African Energy White Paper highlighted a number of concerns and called for a focus on actively promoting the monitoring and reduction of power generation through fossil fuels, an increase in the use of renewable energy and the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation.
The recent crisis in energy supply to the Western Cape has given the government an increased incentive to become proactive in seeking and creating efficient, dependable and sustainable ways of keeping up with the country’s growing needs. The crisis arose as a result of a malfunction of the Koeberg Nuclear Reactor near Cape Town. As a result, the Western Cape province was subject to long periods of power outages throughout the region that resulted in not only millions of Rands in losses to the economy but also major inconveniences to the population of the region. This demand in power production is only set to increase during the winter months, which place an increased need on energy.
The Western Cape government has responded to this demand in the short term by encouraging the region’s population to actively conserve energy in their homes and in industry and by putting measures in place for them to do so. Yet, controlled power outages are still set to continue if the load is too high and it seems that energy conservation alone will not solve the problem of growing energy demand.
 South Africa is in the process of seeking urgent alternatives. There are various parties that call for the establishment of more nuclear plants, amongst them ministers and politicians who say they are efficient and economical. The Koeberg Nuclear Reactor has been in existence and has been operating safely for the past 21 years. There are various groups that lobby against it because of the potential to be hugely destructive. According to Earthlife Africa, the Pebble Bed Nuclear Reactors that Eskom proposes to build in South Africa will cost over R40 billion, generate only 70 full time jobs and 500 construction jobs. In contrast, for the same amount of money a 4300 MW wind farm would create more than 8000 jobs and generate 50% more electricity.
The country also has excellent renewable energy resources. An experimental wind farm has been constructed in 2002 along the West Coast near Cape Town. South Africa is a country blessed with favourable radiation. Solar home systems can be introduced more widely that can be used for lighting, water heating and appliances. There are also reports of a British company hoping to harness South Africa’s wave energy by establishing 3 wavepower farms.
Read more about the energy problem in the Western Cape on the Sustainable Energy Africa’s website and News section of this Burning Issue. A wealth of information and relevant documents about the situation and energy strategy in the Western Cape can be found on the Sustainable Energy Africa website. Read also more about the city of Cape Town in specific on The Climate Group website.
The approach government will take is still to be seen. If you have any comments or queries on these issues please feel free to post under the relevant topics on the DLIST discussion forum. They are most welcome.
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