(Ed) 2006. Energy policies for sustainable development in South Africa

14 ENERGY POLICIES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA
economic competitiveness and future prosperity, as well as greatly improving the public
transport system both with regard to service to commuters and technologically.
Accomplishing these tasks raises critical issues for energy sector policy. The major issues
are: energy provision to the poor and disadvantaged, access to cleaner technologies,
complying with both local and international environmental legislations, and energy
integration and security in Africa as a whole. We now look at these issues one by one.
2.3.1 Energy provision to the poor and disadvantaged
The government has stated that it wants 100% access to electricity by 2010, although it is
not clear if the intention is 100% grid electricity or if some of this will be off-grid. The
quantity of electricity to be available to each household has yet to be decided. Originally
the plan was to supply households with 350 kWh/month, but experience has shown that
newly connected households choose to consume between and 75kWh and 250 kWh per
month, with an average of about 100 kWh/month (Prasad & Ranninger 2003). Provision
should still be made for higher consumption, because it is known that providing electricity
leads to the development of other productive activities that use electricity. Further policies
will be required, as discussed below.
Grid and off-grid electricity supply
Generally, the overall macro-economic environment will determine the extent of
electrification for the remaining 20% of unelectrified households in urban areas and 50% in
rural areas, even though the multiplier effect of grid electricity can be significant if well
planned. Eskom (2002) has shown that the cost of new connections is declining, but it is
nevertheless clear that the cost of connecting the remaining urban and rural residents will
be very high. Supplying grid electricity to some rural areas is difficult because of their
remoteness and low population density, so cost becomes prohibitive, and a weak rural
economy makes cost recovery even more difficult. However, policy approaches based on
‘taking electricity to the people’ or ‘bringing the people to electricity’ should be explored.
Some problems have arisen because of the belief that ‘electricity for all’ means grid
electricity for all. The government is presently supporting off-grid SHSs by allocating
concessions, subsidising up to 70% of the capital cost and about 80% of the maintenance
costs. The results, from the systems installed so far, are mixed, and the cost to the
government is high (Afrane-Okese & Muller 2003). Policy attention will be required to
ensure the sustainability of the off-grid project.
A limited programme carried out at Lwandle in the Western Cape shows that with the right
policy, solar water heaters can be viable (Lukamba-Muhiya & Davidson 2003). The use of
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is not yet widespread in South Africa, though it is increasing.
Some barriers can be addressed by certain policies and measures (Cowan 2005; Lloyd
2002) and South Africa can learn from successful programmes in Botswana, Senegal and
Ghana (Davidson & Sokona 2003).
There are some ongoing programmes aimed at introducing improved cooking stoves for
kerosene and coal. The Cape Technikon in Cape Town is working on improved kerosene
stoves, and the government is promoting low smoke fuel stoves using coal. These
technologies, if widespread, would improve efficiency and reduce health hazards.
Access to high quality transport fuels
Sustainable development requires the improvement of petroleum fuels and the introduction
of cleaner transport fuels. It requires public transport to be greatly improved to provide
essential travel, especially for the poor and disadvantaged. South Africans have far too