ESKOM LIGHTS OUT 2025

May I start by extending my sincere condolences to the Bhembe family, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, government, Their Majesties and all emaSwati for the loss of  Minister Peter Bhembe. We have been robbed of a good man at a very critical time.

The question of electricity supply post 2025 is at the back of the mind of every liSwati. We have done so well in the electrification of the country, particularly rural electrification, but it would be a shame to find, come 2025, that we have no electricity supply. Eswatini must be very worried about our electricity supply come 2025. Any investor has to ask the same question before investing or expanding. I am sure a lot has been done but the information is slow in coming. A renewal  of the Eskom contract would have to have started already and what are the terms. I believe this is the single most important job for government and Parliament as the consequences of failure are too great to even contemplate. The discussions about building new Parliament, ICC and new airline mean nothing if there is no reliable electricity supply. Politically, government and the monarchy can fall if this is not handled well.

Lubhuku Coal Thermal Power

The Lubhuku Coal Thermal Power Project has been on the cards for some time now and the nation has not been given a clear answer as to its progress. The Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC) website states; “EEC endeavors to provide base-load power for the Kingdom of Eswatini using available natural resources. The goal is to increase power generation within the Kingdom of Eswatini, bolstered by a feasibility study towards a thermal power project earmarked to produce about 300 megawatts. EEC has committed funds towards this project and is currently procuring the consulting firm that will undertake the feasibility study.

The revised project plan indicates that the project will be completed in November 2019.”  This is clearly an outdated report as it ends with November 2019 and no indication on what has happed since. The question is why would EEC feel it’s not important to update their website on such a critical matter as energy security, given the widely published 2025 ‘shutdown’. Investors refer to this website before making decisions. There are organisations such as the Eswatini Climate Coalition, who oppose the Lubhuku Coal Thermal Power plant because of climate concerns. The global warming phenomenon is real, and we must be concerned as Africa because we have had the worst effects of global warming through droughts and floods. However, the reality is that we cannot achieve the levels of industrialisation the developed countries have achieved with only renewable energy given its present efficiency and prohibitive cost. US$73 trillion is the price tag for global renewable energy globally.

What is even more disturbing is the fact that the Paris Climate Agreement, which has been signed by most of the developed countries, excludes China, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases. America also has large thermal power plants still fully operational and generating cheap energy, but we must stop. A small country like Eswatini is expected to stop building its first and only tiny 300MW plant to sustain its very existence. We cannot develop with expansive energy when the rest of the developed world uses cheap energy to develop. Eswatini is but a drop in the ocean with very little effect in the bigger skim of things. Botswana has a thermal plant already because they take and act on decisions immediately.    

China, including Taiwan, has large coal plants

The Datang Tuoketuo Power Station in China is the largest operational coal power plant in the world. As of 2021, the power station has a capacity of roughly 6.7 gigawatts. Ranking second and third, Taean Power Station and Dangjin Power Station had a gross generating capacity of 6.4 and 6.04 gigawatts, respectively. Six out of the 10 largest coal power plants in the world are in China including Taichung located in Taiwan our partner.

Eswatini sitting on 143 million tons of mineable coal deposits

The Independent News Eswatini reported that, according to a report compiled by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy’s Geological Survey and Mines Department, Eswatini has 143 million tons of mineable coal deposits, which are currently unexplored. Areas with coal deposits in the country are Mhlume (area 1, area 2-Mpaka, area 3 – Sumcor), Maloma and Lubhuku. According to the report, the mineable but unexplored coal deposits can be mined over a period of 205 years combined.

Paris climate agreement

The delay in exploration of coal is slowly but surely rendering the valuable stones worthless. With the United Nations Climate Action pushing for countries to reduce fossil fuel emissions and reach the ambitious target of carbon neutrality by 2050, under the Paris climate agreement, countries are expected to commit by 2020 to more aggressive climate plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), than those they set in 2015 when the agreement was signed.

Conclusion

Eswatini must take all possible steps to establish the Lubhuku Thermal Power Station within the next two remaining years. Our partner and friend Taiwan should please assist with funding the E12 billion required and make available the green coal technology they have acquired over the years. The reality is that fossil fuel energy is not going away anytime soon and if we miss this opportunity we will never develop. What is more likely to happen is that the green coal technology will improve and become more ecofriendly with time.

The clean energy mix should be encouraged but gradually over time. Solar power technology costs and wind power technology indeed continue to drop but the efficiency still cannot be matched by coal power technology. The erratic weather patterns make dependence on renewable energy sources of power dangerous. The solar panels and windmills could easily be damaged by the unpredictable storms from global warming. The hydro-electric dams are at great risk from the frequently occurring droughts and the flooding.

Unfortunately, nuclear energy has not been spared as Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition announced a few years ago that Germany’s 17 nuclear power stations will shut down by 2022, in a policy reversal following Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Coal remains the only viable option to reliable energy sustainability. To be totally honest, as emaSwati we need the 20 000 jobs coal mining can generate and the billions of dollars in coal revenue while we can still sell it. septembereswatini@gmail.com   

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