Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says government\u2019s work to shield health facilities from load shedding is continuing.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Minister was delivering the address for the ministry\u2019s Budget Vote in Parliament.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Government has already identified some 213 hospitals that can be excluded from load shedding, with 76 already not experiencing power cuts and work on a further 46 underway.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe remaining hospitals have sufficient backup power supply from diesel generators. Nevertheless, diesel costs remain a major expenditure driver, especially during higher load shedding stages.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cApart from the diesel costs, the electricity costs are significant. An embedded generation option for health facilities (hospitals) will reduce operating costs whilst providing security and quality of supply,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Minister said the ministry has already set in motion costing scenarios for the installation of alternative energy sources for hospitals to address \u201cthe impact of load shedding and mitigate the impact of high diesel costs on medical facilities\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the Department of Health figures, to cover 137 hospitals (varying between small and large), R10.1 billion capital expenditure will be required to provide a combined solar, battery and inverter solution.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIn contrast, for the same 137 small hospitals, diesel generators will cost R89.1 million in capital costs, whilst large hospitals will cost R411 million (capital costs). However, the operating cost (primarily diesel purchase) will cost R3.3 billion and R655 million annually for large and small hospitals, respectively.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cA rapid deployment of embedded generation or ‘micro-grid’ solutions, including roof-top solar for hospitals, other critical installations, and economic hubs, will be possible through an aggregated power purchase agreement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Protecting jobs<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Ramokgopa said while government continues to turn the tide against load shedding, work also continues to \u201csupport the most vulnerable against the impact and support businesses and industry, protecting jobs and our economic prospects\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Land Bank has established a R2.5 billion fund for farmers to invest in alternative energy solutions to support energy security. This will provide a mix of grant and loan funding, with the grant component ranging from 30 – 70%. National Treasury is finalising adjustments to the Loan Guarantee Scheme to establish an Energy Bounce Back Scheme.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Ministry of Electricity is working with the Government Employees Pension Fund to develop a facility to support low-income workers in the Public Sector to afford the upfront capital costs of solar solutions and other load management systems,\u201d Ramokgopa said. \u2013 SAnews.gov.za<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: South African Government News Agency<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says government\u2019s work to shield health facilities from load shedding is continuing.The Minister was delivering the address for the ministry\u2019s Budget Vote in Parliament.Government ha…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n