Transmission Ten-Year Development Plan 2011-2020 - Eskom

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Foreword by Divisional Executive
A reliable supply of electricity is essential for South
Africa’s economy to grow and generate the additional
job opportunities that our people so desperately
need. A reliable Transmission network of adequate
capacity to meet the country’s needs is a
necessary condition for the provision of a reliable
electricity supply to South Africa, and to support
the Government’s initiatives to create jobs. The
Transmission network does not only require regular
preventative maintenance and timeous repair of
faults to remain reliable, but it must be developed and
extended as well to meet the increasing demands made
upon it; or alternatively connect new loads and power
stations should be connected to the network.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa
(NERSA) has published, in the Grid Code; the rules
governing investment in the Transmission network.
Eskom, as the licensed Transmission Network Service
Provider plans the network according to this Code
and, subject to funding and other resource constraints,
builds the network according to these plans. Where
sufficient funds are not available to develop the network,
a consistent set of rules is applied to prioritise projects
and allocate funding in such a way that the maximum
benefit is gained for South Africa.
The Transmission Development Plan for the period
2011 to 2020 is the third such plan that is being
published in the public domain. It follows on the second
such plan published in 2010. The major focus of the
plans continues to ensure that the new power stations
Transmission Ten-Year Plan 2011-2020
are integrated into the national power system and that
there is minimum infrastructure to meet prescribed
reliability criteria. Funding constraints mean that the
time it will take to meet the full requirements of the
Grid Code could be as late as 2020 .
We estimate that, in nominal terms, an investment of
R166 billion is required to the end of the financial year
2020. This is a significant investment on its own if one
compares it to what is needed for transport and water
projects. These investments already consider constraints
in funding and resource availability as they have ideally
been accelerated. These investments will result in the
reliability standards only being completely met in the
period 2015 to 2020.
It is clear that electricity is the lifeblood of South Africa’s
economy and hence there is a need for the country to
understand what is required to ensure a reliable and
secure supply and what investment levels are required
to achieve it. We hope that this document will assist in
this dialogue, and we welcome comments and queries
on the content and format.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank
the team that has worked and continues to work on
the development of these plans. It is a difficult and
complex process which requires extensive consultation
and multiple iterations.
Kind regards
Mongezi Ntsokolo