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South African Energy System

South Africa is one of the fastest developing countries in the world and it is also a country that tells a different story concerning history, colonialism and democracy. It is a story that sets us apart from the whole world and continues to inspire every single leader in all countries around the globe to look up to South Africans as an example to follow. One might also be compelled to mention that our country is rich on mining resources, agricultural resources and more especially coal, platinum, gold and uranium etc. Taking into consideration that South Africa is a water dry country and not forgetting a rapid increase of population since 1994, it is safe to say our efforts as a society to building a nation has been satisfactory.

A fundamental question arises then, how can a country with that much social status, natural resources and minimum natural disasters be among the bottom group of countries in the global ‘economic food chain’? This question is one that has become too political for investors and technicians, too technical for politicians and economic analysts. In this paper an attempt is made on establishing a connection on energy as a central player in promoting rapid economic growth, agricultural development, water security, better education, accelerate infrastructure and development, reduce poverty, improve healthcare and eliminate unemployment by supporting renewable alternatives as a key feature for foreign direct investment that will promote job creation.

However, in attempt to answer this fundamental question mentioned above this article only focuses on South African literature for reference. Reference maybe connected to an international party, event or legislature when deemed relevant to the context. It is debatable that in 1994’s South African first parliament, honorable late father of the nation Nelson Rholihlahla Mandela introduced a reconstruction and development programme (RDP) that addressed challenges of racial segregation matters, housing and sociopolitical issues that forced energy not to be a primary concern considering circumstances at that time.

 It is also up for debate that in 1999’s South African second parliament, his Excellency former president of the republic Mr. Thabo Mbeki had his hands full with HIV& AIDS crisis spreading throughout the country and rural development demands from communities therefore once again energy never took a center stage until year 2009.

On this year, it is a fact that honorable president Mr. JG Zuma took it upon himself to appoint a national planning committee chaired by honorable former minister of finance Mr. Trevor Manuel that focused on challenges facing the country and after the process of intense research, the committee produced an action plan of a better South Africa by year 2030. This plan is then called a national development plan of which is a document that has become a national bible and golden ticket out of poverty. Energy is at the heart of national development plan and moreover, the current fifth parliament of South Africa is expected to implement this plan going forward.

Could this be a plan that will change South Africa for the better? And can our focus on energy solve most of national obstacles and create a South Africa where everyone is living out of poverty, in peace and harmony by year 2030 as drafted in the national development plan? Or could this be another utopia and shot in the sky for further political monopoly among the rich minority? These are questions that will be addressed on this paper as we take a microscopic view on how Energy affects us from the moment we wake up to make coffee in the morning to the moment we switch off the lights at night.

Eskom is a giant utility of energy in South Africa and has been for many years without any serious competition. 86% of the country’s power generation is from coal and that has put South Africa in a position where it is among the top major sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the world (Carter, S. and Gulati, M. 2014). South Africa’s energy system accounts for about 83% of the total emission in the country (Carter, S. and Gulati, M. 2014). One may argue that this coal we so reliant on, is not a renewable resource therefore mining coal becomes more and more expensive as cutting edge engineering machines are required to dig deeper and deeper of which results in the rise on cost of energy.

A study by world wide fund organization funded by British high commission in Pretoria this year 2014 proves the greenhouse gas emissions from carbon dioxide produced by coal in South Africa causes climate change and that has a direct and indirect effect on our water, food and agriculture(Carter, S. and Gulati, M. 2014). This climate change is then responsible for high rise in temperatures causing changes in rainfall patterns which have a direct effect on crop yields, as well as an indirect effect through changes in the availability of irrigation water (Carter, S. and Gulati, M. 2014).

When temperature rises, there will be increase heat stress on livestock. Ethiopia (Borana) lost 62% of its national cattle herd between 1998 and 1999 (Carter, S. and Gulati, M. 2014). Increase in temperature is not the only consequence, with climate change comes an increased severity of drought and increased intensity of extreme events (Carter, S. and Gulati, M. 2014). These events include soil erosion, decreased crop yields, Increased disease transmission in fish species and influence on marine pathogens etc (Carter, S. and Gulati, M. 2014). South African leaders and private sector representatives are aware of these changes of which is why farmers are being educated about climate change, its effect on food quality, quantity and livestock.

This is all in the national development plan for South Africa, also in the plan it is noted that the country already has a relatively low allocation of 60% of total water available for agriculture, compared with a global average of 70% (Carter, S. and Gulati, M. 2014).

There is a demand in water for irrigation as climate change continues to affect changes in rainfall patterns; energy is in turn needed to pump water from underground in order to meet these demands. Can Eskom supply the people of South Africa with enough energy for population, water irrigation pumps and crops so as to avoid reduction in crop production that may lead to further poverty and initiate drought in South Africa?

It is important to remember that in 2008, South Africa experienced a severe electricity crisis. Domestic and industrial electricity users had to suffer from black outs all over the country (R.Inglesi, 2010). It is argued that partially the reason was the lack of research on energy, locally. However, Eskom argues that the lack of capacity can only be solved by building new power plants (R.Inglesi, 2010). This is one of many reasons that on year 2010, South African government initiated new power plants projects that are expected to assist in meeting electricity demand as drafted in the national development plan.

In the meantime, blackouts still occur as a result of delay in completion of construction of new power stations. At the same time, wheat and maize production remain vulnerable to climate change. One study (Akpalu, W., Hassan, R.M. and C. Ringler. 2009) shows that a 10% reduction in mean precipitation reduces the mean maize yield by approximately 4%. Simultaneously, an increase in mean precipitation increases means maize yields; however, as rainfall continues to increase, the additional gain in maize yield begins to diminish (Carter, S. and Gulati, M. 2014).

It is not the only sector affected because potato production in areas such as the Sandveld, Eastern Free State and Limpopo also has their own story to tell. Could this mean as we approach year 2050 South African shelves of wheat, potatoes and maize products in our shopping malls will be a different view compared to today?

(Stephen K, 2002) suggests the high levels of poverty prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa are reflected in the consumption pattern of modern energy and rise in population, meaning more mouths to feed. The National Planning Commission (NPC) adopted the use of the lower-bound poverty line (R443 in 2011 prices) with regard to its poverty targets outlined in the NDP (Statistics South Africa report, 2014).

They have set the ambitious target of eliminating all poverty below this line by 2030. As of 2011, 32, 3% of the Population or roughly 16, 3 million people were living below this poverty line (Statistics South Africa report, 2014). According to the poverty gap, roughly R31, 7 billion per annum would be needed to eliminate poverty at this level (Statistics South Africa report, 2014). The speech by the president of South Africa on the state of the nation address mentioned this obstacle and therefore South Africa is on the right path in fighting poverty. It is also important to educate society about practicing efficiency by saving energy and water in order for these services to be evenly shared among all South Africans.

Media in South Africa is playing an active role in educating society about energy and water efficiency, using water and energy wisely is assisting in decreasing pressure on the national grid of which in turn reduces the frequent occurrence of blackouts. These blackouts cause disturbance in our basic and higher education sector, results such as late assignment submissions, admin setbacks, and unavailable access to academic severs for academic related research and ineffective studying because lights switch on and off frequently. One of many sectors that feel the most consequences of blackouts and energy related problems is healthcare.

Hospitals and clinics increasingly demand long lasting uninterruptable power supplies and generators for backup power. To them, blackout is not about admin setback but losing human lives that are relying on breathing machines in ICU rooms.

 It is not a matter of how long power is absent; it is a matter of how stable and reliable is the power grid for machines in hospitals to operate without interference of electrical spikes. Livestock diseases due to temperature increase is another healthcare issue caused by reliant on coal (Carter, S. and Gulati, M. 2014). Increased disease transmission in fish species and influence on marine pathogens ,reduction of fish species etc are also effects of energy crisis just to name a few (Carter, S. and Gulati, M. 2014). The South African grid that is under pressure is also a major concern looking at another perspective of economic growth and foreign investments.

Foreign direct investment is still a major concern in African countries according to (S.Onyeiwu and H.Shrestha, 2004) a paper written on determinants of foreign direct investments in Africa. This paper further explains how foreign investors seek an economy that is politically stable, with a well-developed network of roads, airports, water supply, uninterrupted power supply, telephones, and Internet access (S.Onyeiwu and H.Shrestha, 2004). After the 2010 FIFA world cup, it is safe to say South Africa is better on airports, roads and political stability compared to previous years but power supply stability and water supply insecurities are two giants blocking investments.

NDP is expected to tackle these challenges by supporting small businesses, invest more on energy and diversify energy sources by focusing on renewable sources of energy that demand less water in order to boost economic growth and attract foreign investors.

The results of the positive step taken towards our energy sector can be noted on a recent investment by Shangai group from china, with an amount of $84 Billion it is expected to build Africa’s New York City in Gauteng next Sandton.

Another investment in Port Elizabeth from FAW motor cars, also by another Chinese company opened doors in July 2014 creating jobs in surrounding communities. Rapid growth on trade relations between South Africa with China and strengthened ties between the two countries is products of BRICS group.

BRICS intends to help developing world by improving infrastructure and make funds available when needed for urgent development, this idea lead to an agreement in Brazil’s conference 2014 of opening a new development bank with headquarters in Shangai and regional quarters in South Africa. This is good news for South Africa and NDP since energy projects can now be accelerated with other infrastructure and developmental needs like healthcare, roads, agricultural needs for faster exportation of goods, boost in economic growth and elimination of poverty by 2030 according to NDP.

NDP supports focus on renewable resources like solar, wind, hydro etc, because it is through these resources that we will be able to meet the demand and follow the world on a carbon foot print. However, these resources are not a substitute for coal in South Africa. Which means another resource is needed to support the base and that can be nuclear or recently discovered shale gas in the Karoo. Nuclear might not sit well with South Africans after the Fukushima incident; on the other hand shale gas comes with its own baggage.

Firstly, it is unknown how much gas is trapped under ground of the Karoo and secondly, if it were to be enough; it is also unknown whether this gas could be extracted without damaging South Africa’s water reservoirs and also cause inevitable surface damage (Maarten J. de Wit, 2011). It is a gamble, because on the other side of this coin is engraved with the strong empirical correlation between energy use and wealth, and with the theoretical fact that gas burns almost 50% cleaner than coal.

In conclusion, National Development Plan is promising to solve our South African issues mentioned on this article which include agricultural, economical, sociopolitical and environmental stumbling blocks. In the end, by 2030 expectations of a cleaner, safer, and economical stronger country with zero tolerance on poverty is expected to resurface from the soil filled with history of blood of ancestors and violence. A decision towards exploring shale gas as an important source of energy next to coal has been approved in order to secure our energy system and book South Africans a ticket to a better future for generations to come.

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