Petrol and diesel vehicles should make way for electric versions to improve Eskom’s electricity demand. That’s according to Mbulelo Kibido, general manager, grid planning at Eskom, who says South Africans should consider moving to electric vehicles rather than opting for petrol and diesel. Speaking at a recent energy conference in Cape Town, Kibido said electricity demand in South Africa was flat. Moving transport to electricity would address the flat demand immediately. “There is one thing in South Africa we have not realised. You find transport using diesel and petrol, but our electricity demand is flat. Why do we not convert these vehicles to electricity?” he said. “Can you imagine if we convert these vehicles to electricity? That demand for electricity would increase.” With immediate questions about load shedding being raised Kibido said he was talking about the future and load shedding was just a “temporary thing”. Nomfundo Maseti, full-time regulator member responsible for piped gas regulation and electricity at the National Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), however, told Kibido it was not necessarily loadshedding but rather the overall unreliability of power supply in South Africa that was the bigger concern – not only for citizens and business owners who remained hesitant to move to electric vehicles, but also investors. “A year ago we were talking excess capacity and right now we are experiencing load shedding again. These kinds of signals deter investments. We need to deal with the question of security of supply.” She said this was first and foremost the most important step forward for South Africa, making it imperative that the country diversify its sources of supply. Several delegates attending the conference told FTW they agreed with Maseti, saying from a business perspective moving vehicle fleets to electricity did not make sense and would probably only be considered at such time as power supply in the country became reliable. Any considerations for electric vehicles at present would also not be based on Eskom delivery but rather renewable energy.
CAPTION
It’s not necessarily load shedding but rather the overall unreliability of power supply in South Africa that is the bigger concern. – Nomfundo Maseti
