Policy discussion for sustainable integrated electricity expansion in South Africa

Abstract

Emerging reports have shown that despite Eskom's continued investment in increasing electricity supply capacity to grid connected and off-grid households, there has been a steady decline in electricity consumption (kWh/month/individual) and household income (ZAR/month). This paper presents an integrated electricity expansion model (IEEM) for South Africa that seeks to incorporate demand side management (DSM) in providing a roadmap for improving and increasing energy (electricity) access that is sustainable, viable, ethically compliant and cost effective. In modelling IEEM, a modified genetic algorithm (MGA) would be utilized in simulating the dispatch of DSM loads (residential houses only) across the country. This paper advances traditional grid expansion planning by presenting smart policy discussions on the usefulness of IEEM in reducing associated network losses, enhancing utilization of local energy sources and minimizing expansion and plant operations costs. This paper also discusses the impact of the IEEM on the quality of life (QoL) of households and quality of service (QoS) of the utility. Electricity consumption data have been adopted from the existing literature and appropriately modified.