TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE OF TRANSMISSION SYSTEM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA - HOW TO RELATE TO ECONOMIC GROWTH; CASE STUDY

摘要

It is well know that the technical performance of power delivery systems in Sub-Saharan Africa is not, in many cases, at an acceptable or desirable level, for various and often complex reasons. Very often it is as a result of ageing of underdeveloped systems, placed are under exceptional stress, and which have been maintained with a rather conservative, reactive approach for many years. The development of an effective design solution to such problems will typically require innovative, "out of the box" thinking. The same applies even more so to the development of a convincing economic justification of large scale interventions. In this instance, the standard approach of building new lines and substations was challenged by an alternative solution which involved the uprating and upgrading of the system. This solution not only requires a smaller capital investment, but also gives an attractive (potential) return on investment, if applied and executed correctly. The strong economic justification for the investment was found in the relationship between economic growth and growth of electricity consumption. The benefits of the upgrade were considered from a completely different perspective than is the norm, by looking at the decrease in non-delivered electricity and the benefit to the economy as a result of the subsequent reduction in lost GDP.