POLITICS

Eskom shares Transmission Development Plan for 2020 to 2029

SOE plans to increase its infrastructure by approximately 4 800 km of extra high voltage transmission lines

Eskom shares the Transmission Development Plan for 2020 to 2029

31 October 2019

Today Eskom shared its Transmission Development Plan (TDP) for the period 2020 to 2029 with different stakeholders at a public forum in Midrand. This is part of Eskom’s Transmission licence requirements issued by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), which requires Eskom to publish a TDP annually.

This forum forms part of a consultative process where industry, various business sectors, local government and other infrastructure development partners, get to influence the long-term development plan of the transmission system.  

Segomoco Scheppers, Group Executive for Transmission says, “Some adjustments have been made to the TDP since its last publication in 2018, which include the re-phasing of capital investment in transmission projects to align with the project execution timelines associated with servitude acquisitions and current available funding.”

Significant progress has also been made in the establishment of a transmission network to enable the successful connection of additional generation from Medupi and Kusile to the national grid. Furthermore, approximately 379 km of lines and 540 MVA of transformation capacity were successfully commissioned in the 2019 financial year.

A number of transmission substations and transformer capacity enhancement projects were commissioned in support of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement (REIPPP) Programme Bid Windows 1 to 3, increasing the number of connected projects to 67, totalling 4 041 MW which was in operation by July 2019.

As part of the TDP for the period 2020 to 2029, Eskom plans to increase its transmission infrastructure by approximately 4 800 km of extra high voltage transmission lines and 35 000 MVA of transformer capacity over the next 10 years. This is part of Eskom’s commitment to capital investment in infrastructure and compliance with the South African Grid Code, which sets out the essential requirements for a reliable and efficient transmission system. All this takes place in the context of the Eskom Roadmap and the creation of the Transmission subsidiary,” said Scheppers.

Issued by Eskom, 31 October 2019