Eskom resumes high-load quotations
Luyanda Makapela
17 June 2008
South African state electricity company Eskom has announced that it will resume issuing quotations to customers who apply for new connections or upgrades above 100 kilovolt-ampere (kVA), following an earlier decision to review the process whereby the utility continued with connections for projects with a contractual obligation to supply.
"Resuming the provision of quotations for requests above 100kVA is a key step that should enable developers to advance their planning and better understands the constraints involved," Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga said in Johannesburg last week.
He said that the period it will take before a customer applies for a connection above 100kVA would depend on the rate of space created on the electrical system.
It would also depend on the rate at which applications for new capacity were received, Maroga said, adding that the criteria for the allocation of capacity above 100kVA were being developed.
Maroga explained that the initial suspension of issuing new connections of above 100kVA were suspended as the utility's operating reserve margin was not able to accommodate any new connections unless space was created on the system.
"We are working around the clock to improve the reserve margin through savings from the existing customer base and by building new power plants," he said.
Under the current power rationing phase the utility is looking to commercial and residential users to reduce electricity consumption by 10%, in line with the margin by which industrial users were initially asked to reduce energy usage by.
Eskom has continued with quotations for new connections for residential developments and electrification programmes, particularly on those requiring less than 100kVA.
Source: BuaNews
