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dam-l Namibia encourages power sector investment/LS
This contradicts recent articles about Zambia's desire to develop more
hydro because "South Africa will face shortages soon..." It also mentions
Epupa Dam.
http://207.32.82.57/news/ElectricPower/06_06_2000.reulb-story-bcutilitiesnam
ibia.html
REPEAT-Namibia encourages power sector investment
EDINBURGH, June 6 (Reuters) - Namibia hopes recent legislative changes
will encourage private investment in power generation, both locally and from
abroad, a government minister said on Monday.
A new Electricity Act approved earlier this year and set to come into
force shortly should contribute to developing electrification of this vast
country of 1.7 million inhabitants who sparsely populate its 824,000 sqaure
kilometres,
Currently only 30 percent of the total population and only 10 percent in
rural areas, has the benefit of electricity, Jesaya Nyamu, Minister of Mines
and Energy told an energy conference.
A key facet of the new legislation is the establishment of an Electricity
Control Board (ECB) as the regulator for the electricity supply industry.
``The ECB is expected to play a major role in overseeing the
implementation of electricity industry reform in Namibia and is an important
element in attracting private sector involvement in the industry - both from
local and international sources,'' the minister said.
It is intended the ECB functions through a licensing system, supported by
a transparent framework of sector regulations addressing technical and economic
regulatory issues, including supply and price regulations.
To begin with, industry restructuring will focus on introducing a
'single-buyer' structure, although limited customer choice will be introduced
for the country's largest power users.
The minister said in time there will be developments towards a competitive
wholesale market structure, although this will to some degree be dependent on
what happens in neighbouring countries, particuarly South Africa.
SOUTH AFRICAN IMPORTS
While total Namibian electricity demand was about 300 megawatts in 1999,
roughly the output of a small to medium-sized European or U.S. power station,
nearly 50 percent of this was imported from South Africa.
Namibia's southern neighbour is energy-rich, boasting capacity of about
40,000 megawatts against domestic demand of 28,000 megawatts. Its national
utility Eskom is a keen exporter of surplus electricity to Namibia and other
southern African states.
In an effort to reduce its reliance on South African electricity, Namibia
is looking to develop gas-fired generation capacity which could be supplied by
the proven offshore gas reserves of the Kudu field, the minister said.
Hydro-electric potential in the north of the country on the border with
Angola was also being considered and the possibility of renewable power
resources, such as wind power on coastal areas and solar for small
community-based projects was not being ignored, he said.
Nyamu said the government was keen for foreign and local investors to get
involved in the envisaged projects.
Some energy analysts argue that in the short-term those countries
geographically close to South Africa should develop their transmission systems
in order to benefit from Eskom's capacity surplus rather than engaging in high
capital cost plant expansion.
``I don't see the sense in investing in plant for capacity reasons when
there is still this surplus. I think sometimes it is a national pride thing,
but in reality Eskom is never going to turn off the supply, it would not be to
its advantage to do so,'' one South African energy analyst told Reuters at the
sidelines of the conference.
Nyamu said Namibia was committed to participating in, and benefiting from,
moves towards a wholesale competitive electricity market in southern Africa.
``We are fully supportive of recent decisions to move the Southern African
Power Pool (SAPP) from a voluntary loose co-operative pool to a tighter
competitive pool,'' the minister said.
SAPP groups 12 southern African states and aims to introduce on-line
cross-border electricity trading over the internet by the end of the year.
Back to the Electric Power Headlines
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REPEAT-Namibia encourages power sector investment<br>
<br>
EDINBURGH, June 6 (Reuters) - Namibia hopes
recent legislative changes will encourage private investment in power
generation, both locally and from abroad, a government minister said on
Monday. <br>
<br>
A new Electricity Act approved earlier this year
and set to come into force shortly should contribute to developing
electrification of this vast country of 1.7 million inhabitants who
sparsely populate its 824,000 sqaure kilometres, <br>
<br>
Currently only 30 percent of the total
population and only 10 percent in rural areas, has the benefit of
electricity, Jesaya Nyamu, Minister of Mines and Energy told an energy
conference. <br>
<br>
A key facet of the new legislation is the
establishment of an Electricity Control Board (ECB) as the regulator for
the electricity supply industry. <br>
<br>
``The ECB is expected to play a major role in
overseeing the implementation of electricity industry reform in Namibia
and is an important element in attracting private sector involvement in
the industry - both from local and international sources,'' the minister
said. <br>
<br>
It is intended the ECB functions through a
licensing system, supported by a transparent framework of sector
regulations addressing technical and economic regulatory issues,
including supply and price regulations. <br>
<br>
To begin with, industry restructuring will focus
on introducing a 'single-buyer' structure, although limited customer
choice will be introduced for the country's largest power users. <br>
<br>
The minister said in time there will be
developments towards a competitive wholesale market structure, although
this will to some degree be dependent on what happens in neighbouring
countries, particuarly South Africa. <br>
<br>
SOUTH AFRICAN IMPORTS <br>
<br>
While total Namibian electricity demand was
about 300 megawatts in 1999, roughly the output of a small to
medium-sized European or U.S. power station, nearly 50 percent of this
was imported from South Africa. <br>
<br>
Namibia's southern neighbour is energy-rich,
boasting capacity of about 40,000 megawatts against domestic demand of
28,000 megawatts. Its national utility Eskom is a keen exporter of
surplus electricity to Namibia and other southern African states. <br>
<br>
In an effort to reduce its reliance on South
African electricity, Namibia is looking to develop gas-fired generation
capacity which could be supplied by the proven offshore gas reserves of
the Kudu field, the minister said. <br>
<br>
Hydro-electric potential in the north of the
country on the border with Angola was also being considered and the
possibility of renewable power resources, such as wind power on coastal
areas and solar for small community-based projects was not being ignored,
he said. <br>
<br>
Nyamu said the government was keen for foreign
and local investors to get involved in the envisaged projects. <br>
<br>
Some energy analysts argue that in the
short-term those countries geographically close to South Africa should
develop their transmission systems in order to benefit from Eskom's
capacity surplus rather than engaging in high capital cost plant
expansion. <br>
<br>
``I don't see the sense in investing in plant
for capacity reasons when there is still this surplus. I think sometimes
it is a national pride thing, but in reality Eskom is never going to turn
off the supply, it would not be to its advantage to do so,'' one South
African energy analyst told Reuters at the sidelines of the conference.
<br>
<br>
Nyamu said Namibia was committed to
participating in, and benefiting from, moves towards a wholesale
competitive electricity market in southern Africa. <br>
<br>
``We are fully supportive of recent decisions to
move the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) from a voluntary loose
co-operative pool to a tighter competitive pool,'' the minister said.
<br>
<br>
SAPP groups 12 southern African states and aims
to introduce on-line cross-border electricity trading over the internet
by the end of the year. <br>
<br>
Back to the Electric Power Headlines<br>
<br>
Copyright © 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or
redistribution of Reuters Limited content, including by framing or
similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent
of Reuters Limited. Reuters Limited shall not be liable for any errors or
delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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