Question NW3075 to the Minister in The Presidency for Electricity
06 October 2023 - NW3075
Graham, Ms SJ to ask the Minister in The Presidency for Electricity
What (a) number of megawatts are being transmitted to the Republic from the Cahora Bassa power transmission system, (b) are the details of the extent of financing undertaken by the Republic to build and maintain the specified system since it was put back into operation in 1997 and (c) are the long-term plans for the system in terms of (i) life-span of the existing infrastructure, (ii) expansion of the system and (iii) on-going usage?
Reply:
(a)Eskom is contracted for 1 150 MW until 31 March 2030.
(b)The extent of infrastructure investment/financing undertaken by Eskom to build/sustain Apollo high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) is provided in Table 1 below for a period of 13 years. Ten of the listed projects have been completed (over R241 million), and eight of the projects are in the execution phase (over R951 million), with the remainder in the development phase (R321 million). The infrastructure includes HVDC key components such as transmission lines, converter transformers, and shunt capacitors, which amounts to a total of R1.5 billion. Obtaining information prior to the year 2010 will require more time, as this information has been archived.
Table 1: Details of infrastructure investment (from 2010)
|
PROJECT NAME |
PLANT TYPE |
INITIATIVE PHASE |
TOTAL (rand) |
|
Apollo Shunt Capacitor Bank Refurbishment |
CAP BANKS |
COMPLETED |
18 693 718 |
|
Apollo CS Breaker 11 kV Replacement |
BREAKERS |
EXECUTION |
31 116 104 |
|
Apollo CS Pietersburg Security Fence and Road |
SECURITY |
COMPLETED |
12 342 665 |
|
Apollo Bridge 5 Converter Transformers |
TRANSFORMERS |
COMPLETED |
11 554 690 |
|
Apollo Upgrade DC Harmonic Filters |
CAP BANKS |
EXECUTION |
11 800 000 |
|
Apollo CS Line Voltage Divider Replacement |
LINE DIVIDERS |
EXECUTION |
62 143 000 |
|
Apollo CS Problematic Bypass Breakers |
BREAKERS |
EXECUTION |
219 225 000 |
|
Apollo CS HVDC Line No. 1: Tower 322 |
TOWER |
COMPLETED |
4 266 123 |
|
Apollo Songo PLC refurbishment |
PLC |
EXECUTION |
14 200 000 |
|
Apollo Storage Plinths DC Side |
NON-PLANT |
CONCEPT |
11 600 000 |
|
Apollo CS: HVDC Refurbishment Phase 2: Bridge 4 Transformers |
TRANSFORMERS |
EXECUTION |
296 156 754 |
|
Apollo CS: HVDC Refurbishment Phase 2: Bridge 2 Transformers |
TRANSFORMERS |
EXECUTION |
296 156 754 |
|
Apollo – Cahora Bassa No. 1 and 2 Quad Spacers |
LINES |
CONCEPT |
130 000 000 |
|
Apollo CS: Deluge System Water Storage Tank |
NON-PLANT |
CONCEPT |
17 769 000 |
|
Apollo – Cahora Bassa Lines Bird Guards |
BIRD GUARDS |
CONCEPT |
5 400 000 |
|
NSP1 Security Build 2 – Apollo (NKP) ERA |
SECURITY |
EXECUTION |
20 450 000 |
|
Apollo CS: Replacement of Pole 1 533 kV Reactor |
REACTORS |
CONCEPT |
155 500 000 |
|
Apollo HVDC Lines Reinsulation Project |
REINSULATION |
COMPLETED |
44 602 502 |
|
Apollo CS: CCTV Installations |
SECURITY |
COMPLETED |
3 834 421 |
|
Replacement Bushings for Converter Transformers – Apollo CS |
TRANSFORMERS |
COMPLETED |
17 193 111 |
|
Apollo CS Install Spare Transformer in Bridge 6 |
TRANSFORMERS |
COMPLETED |
10 000 000 |
|
Apollo CS Install Spare Transformer in Bridge 8 |
TRANSFORMERS |
COMPLETED |
10 000 000 |
|
Apollo 2 x Converter Transformers + Reactor (Capital Spares) |
TRANSFORMERS |
COMPLETED |
109 145 411 |
|
TOTAL |
1 513 149 254 |
The maintenance costs component, provided in Table 2 below, for a period of 14 financial years, amounted to over R165 million, which included the following:
- Servitudes maintenance
- Maintenance by Rotek Industries
- Materials
- Equipment spares
- Production plant services
- Facility services
The maintenance costs information can only be provided from the 2009/10 financial year, as Eskom changed to the current SAP system at that point. Obtaining information prior to that period will require more time, as this information has been archived.
Table 2: Maintenance (from the 2009/10 to the 2022/23 financial years)
(C) Are there long-term plans for the system in terms of (i) life-span of the existing infrastructure, (ii) expansion of the system and (iii) on-going usage?
(i) Details of the long-term plans for Apollo HVDC in terms of the lifespan of the existing infrastructure (refurbishment plan) are provided in Table 3 below.
Table 3: Long-term refurbishment plan
|
PROJECT NAME |
PLANT TYPE |
INITIATIVE PHASE |
TOTAL (rand) |
|
Apollo Install New Earth Electrodes |
ELECTRODE |
PRE-CONCEPT |
14 000 000 |
|
Apollo CS: Permanent Bipole Bypass |
ISOLATORS |
PRE-CONCEPT |
69 010 000 |
|
Apollo CS: Replace Bridge 1, 3, and 7 Transformers |
TRANSFORMERS |
PRE-CONCEPT |
888 470 262 |
|
Apollo CS Repeater Station Pietersburg Battery System |
BATTERY |
PRE-CONCEPT |
15 000 000 |
|
Apollo CS HVDC Line No. 1 Refurbishment |
LINES |
PRE-CONCEPT |
230 000 000 |
|
Apollo CS HVDC Line No. 2 Refurbishment |
LINES |
PRE-CONCEPT |
230 000 000 |
|
Apollo CS Problematic Equipment Phase 2 |
SUBSTATION |
PRE-CONCEPT |
105 600 000 |
|
Apollo CS Problematic Equipment Phase 3 |
SUBSTATION |
PRE-CONCEPT |
124 200 000 |
|
Apollo SS Auxiliary Transformer Bund Walls |
NON-PLANT |
PRE-CONCEPT |
10 300 000 |
|
Apollo CS: HVDC System Ref. Upgrade Phase 3 |
SUBSTATION |
PRE-CONCEPT |
1 700 562 263 |
|
TOTAL |
3 387 142 525 |
(ii) Currently, there is no long-term plan for expansion for the Apollo Converter Station.
(iii) Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) has indicated that it would like to start engagements in terms of the contractual extension beyond 2030. Eskom will be open to such engagements, as HCB power forms part of the baseload power supply mix.