Officials say that South Africa has a significant reworking of its long-term energy plan.

Officials said that a reworked long-term South Africa power plan would be soon presented to the cabinet. The plan is designed to put an end to the electricity blackouts which have plagued the country over the past decade.

Only in January was the last plan released, which laid out scenarios for power supply up to 2050. The plan included a wide range of energy sources, including nuclear, renewables, and natural gas. Coal, the current dominant power source, was also covered.

At a press conference, energy officials said that the so-called Integrated Resource Plan should reflect the new data. This includes the dramatic improvement in the performance of the state utility Eskom this year.

Eskom, after more than a ten-year period of frequent power cuts hasn't implemented blackouts in March.

Titus Mathe is the chief executive of the South African National Energy Development Institute. He said that there are many changes to the IRP.

Mathe explained that the previous modelling had assumed Eskom’s Energy Availability Factor – a measure for its plant performance – would be at around 52%, and not grow much. The new assumption is for 60-60%, but there is still room for improvement.

The revised plan will also address grid constraints in Eskom's Transmission Network. It will be based upon a long-term projection up to 2050.

Kgosientsho RAMOKGOPA, Minister of Electricity and Energy, said at the same briefing that targeted consultations would begin next week. The government hopes to present the revised plan to the cabinet by the end November. (Reporting and editing by Alexander Winning, Christina Fincher and Wendell Roelf)

(source: Reuters)