Segomoco Scheppers, Eskom transmission head, says the grid will require some investment by 2027, to enable 27 Gigawatts to come on stream.
He was speaking at the Green Energy Africa Summit, today, the 10th October 2023, in Cape Town.
He says curtailment (reduction of electricity output to maintain a balance between supply and demand) is able to unlock more Megawatts to the grid.
The engagement of the customer base, which includes renewable associations, is already underway.
About 10% curtailment rules could unleash a bit more Megawatts to the grid.
“It is like a no regret move. We need to engage the Regulator” according to Scheppers.
He says there is also an option to compensate independent producers, for curtailment period, which would last for a few hours.
A Grid Generation Capacity Assessment, which will review curtailment, has the potential to produce 4GW, and will only be published at the end of the year.
It will guide how much electricity can be connected, from which locations.
Scheppers said although the network is not designed, there is capacity to accommodate new electricity generation projects in the North West, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KZN.