Role of nuclear energy in the electricity supply of 1

Murendeni Matshinyatsimbi, Non-Member, William Yuill, Non-Member, S. Chowdhury, Member, IEEE, and S. P. Chowdhury, Member, IEEE

Abstract-- This paper analyses the role of nuclear power in the Eskom has pointed out that long term energy contracts running electricity supply in South Africa from both a technical and the course of approximately 30 years were signed to ensure economic perspective. The technical perspective considers the the effective operation of these plants to provide new jobs and impact of transmission lines connecting a newly built plant to the generate revenue. The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2010 is national grid. The economic perspective analyses the cost a draft document that outlines the plans to meet long-term elements of a nuclear plant, which include the capital cost, fuel cost, operation and maintenance cost, waste management and electricity demands in terms of generating capacity, type, decommissioning cost. Specific mention is made of the Integrated timing and cost. However, all scenarios will see a doubling in Resource Plan 2010 and its impact that it will play in terms of the current electricity price over the next 10 years. The authors additional nuclear power integration in South Africa. view is that the rising cost of electricity will spark an unsatisfactory response from labour unions and businesses Index Terms-- Cost element, fuel accessibility, nuclear power, who will be more concerned with the negative effects of a nuclear technology price hike. The South African Chamber of Commerce has predicted job losses of 250,000 as result of the price hikes. I. INTRODUCTION However, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters says the need to outh Africa has been experiencing an electricity shortage increase the generation capacity to ensure economic stability S since 2005 due to the lack of generation capacity. The is of utmost importance resulting in the direct increase in country has proposed plans to limit its carbon dioxide tariffs [10]. (CO) emissions to below 275 million tons by 2025. However it is expected that 41346MW of generation capacity will have III. INTEGRATED RESOURCE PLAN NUCLEAR INCORPORATION to be added to the supply system if a 4.5% Gross Domestic The IRP states that 41346MW of generation capacity will Product (GDP) growth trajectory is to be achieved [11]. have to be added to the supply system if a 4.5% Gross Prospective electricity generation options used to meet the Domestic Product (GDP) growth trajectory is to be achieved current and future energy demands must achieve a symbiotic [11]. The IRP draft compares differing scenarios and balance between; an affordable electricity price, creation of optimizes between the cost of generation and unserved energy. local jobs and demand on scarce resources whilst retaining IRP concludes by proposing a balanced strategy that integrates security of supply and remaining environmentally friendly. nuclear power as part of the long term strategy to meet the The state utility company Eskom is in the process of returning energy demands in South Africa. According to IRP 2010 14% to service three coal fired plants namely; Camden (1520MW), of South Africa’s base-load energy will be comprised of Komati (1200MW) and Grootvlei (1000MW). The utility is nuclear energy by the year 2030. The draft envisages the currently building three new coal fired plants namely; Medupi introduction of nuclear fleet of 9600MW of generation (4332MW), Kusile (4338MW) and Ingula (1332MW) in capacity (six separate stages of 1600MW) between the years response to meeting the increasing energy demands. 2023 and 2030. With such an extensive nuclear roll-out, the Nuclear power has the reputation of being comparatively global nuclear scenario must be reviewed in order to analyze expensive in terms of capital cost. This report will detail the South Africa’s options. comparative cost of a nuclear plant. It outlines the current scenario in South Africa and makes light of current nuclear IV. GLOBAL NUCLEAR ENERGY SCENARIO trends and capacities of leading countries. It relates these aspects to the developing economy of South Africa and This section outlines the current global nuclear scenario. As concludes with a viability assessment on the role that nuclear climate change concerns and awareness of the hidden costs of energy will play in the short and long term strategy to alleviate fossil fuels are acknowledged, a nuclear generation the power shortage. renaissance looks appealing. In 2008 nuclear energy had grown to account for approxiamately14% of the global electric energy production [12]. At the end of 2009, 56 new power II. SOUTH AFRICAN ELECTRICITY TARIFFS reactors were under construction in 14 countries. Of these, The actual cost electricity in South Africa is complex. The China had the largest programme, with 20 units under price of electricity is heavily subsidised for domestic users by construction [13]. the government. During the introduction of electrical generation technologies, the supply capacity was higher than Nuclear energy has been around for over half a century. In that the demand. The price of electricity was low and this allowed time, the technology has not changed. Currently new reactor end users access to affordable electricity. These relatively low designs fall into three categories: (1) new light-water reactors tariffs attracted foreign interest in the form energy intensive Generation III, (2) modular reactors and the more radical (3) industries such as smelters. Criticism has been levied at Generation IV. One of the leading contenders for the next Eskom for supporting energy intensive plants in a time of generation belongs to Westinghouse and is known as the electricity shortage as South Africa is effectively exporting AP1000. These reactors have significantly improved on the electrical energy in the form of precious metals. However safety features of standard Pressurized-Water Reactor (PWR).

978-1-4577-1002-5/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE 2

Four AP1000s are being constructed in China. In addition brought online in 1984. The second unit was installed the Europe’s Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) will be the following year in 1985. The plant uses the PWR (pressurized world’s largest PWR. These reactors have the advantage of the water reactor) generation II technology. It was constructed at highest efficiency for converting thermal energy into electrical the coast to provide a base load to meet the growing energy energy of 36% opposed to typical values of 33%-34%. Four demands of the Western Cape region and to delay the EPRs are now under construction: one each in Finland and extension of transmission lines from the north eastern coal- France and two 1650-MW units in Taishan, China [14]. fired plants of the Highveld. The plant supplies the nearest load at the coast before it is fed to other geographical TABLE I locations. Nuclear plants require a lot cold water. The INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR SCENARIO OF FRANCE, USA AND UKRAINE construction of new nuclear plants at the coast and utilization

Country France USA Ukraine of sea water could save a vast amount of fresh water. Installed capacity 63 GW 101 GW 13 GW Total domestic VI. COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH NUCLEAR ENERGY electricity generated 77 % 19 % 46 % by nuclear A nuclear power plant carries a relatively high capital cost No. reactors 59 104 15 compared to other technologies. Coal fired plants are the Type PWR PWR, BWR VVER preferred generation option in South Africa due to the 900 MWe (34), 67 GWe 440 MWe (2), abundance of cheap locally available fuel in the form of coal 1300 MWe Capacity (PWR), 34 1000 MWe reserves. This low fuel cost ensures coal-fired power stations (20), 1450 GWe (BWR) (13) MWe (4) are the most economically viable means of generating R&D funding CANDU E6 electricity in terms of cost. The main challenge with regards to Replace PWR generation IV reactors to Future work with EPR coal technology is to minimise CO emissions amidst global high temp gas replace starting 2020 warming concerns and the possible implementation of carbon- cooled reactor VVER. tax tariffs. Coal reserves are concentrated in north eastern Table 1 outlines the nuclear scenario of three countries with a region of the country. This has prompted the construction of high percentage of domestic electricity generation by nuclear coal-fired power stations in this area as it is not economical to sources. All values sourced from [15], [16], [17]. transport coal over long distances to other parts of the country.

France There are five major cost elements which a nuclear plant must Electricite de France (EdF) operates all French units which are consider in order to access its economic viability. These costs of three standard PWR types designed by Areva NP. This is a include: capital cost, fuel cost, operational and maintenance higher degree of standardisation than anywhere else in the cost, waste management cost and decommissioning cost. No world. All but four of EdF's nuclear power plants (14 other generation technology bears waste and decommissioning reactors) are inland, and require fresh water for cooling. In costs. However it is imperative that nuclear plants include August 2005 EdF announced that it plans to replace its 59 waste and decommissioning costs due to radiation safety present reactors with EPR nuclear reactors from 2020, at the regulations. rate of about one 1650 MWe unit per year [15].

The five major cost elements will be discussed in further United States of America detail. The USA has 104 nuclear power reactors in 31 states, operated by 30 different power companies. Presently government R&D A. Capital Cost funding for nuclear energy is being revived with the objective More than 60% of a new nuclear plant cost is regarded as the of rebuilding US leadership in nuclear technology. Particular capital cost [2]; the capital cost of the nuclear power plant will attention is being directed at developing a Generation IV high- be divided into the following sections: temperature gas-cooled reactor, which would form part of a system that would produce both electricity and hydrogen on a A.1) Construction costs large scale [16]. A.2) Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) cost A.3) Owners’ cost Ukraine Energoatom, the country's nuclear power utility, operates A.1) Construction Costs: Ukraine’s 15 nuclear power units. In October 2010 Construction costs refer to all costs incurred from the first Energoatom provided a feasibility study recommending day of construction until the moment the plant is making provision for use of CANDU EC-6 reactors instead of connected to the grid. Most of the budget is allocated to opting for the VVER reactors currently in use [17]. special materials which are used to construct the plant, incorporate safety features and back-up systems that V. EXISTING NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA ensure operational security. The comparatively high South Africa’s only nuclear plant, Koeberg, is located in the construction cost is due to the fact that most nuclear Western Cape Province, 30 km north of the city of Cape Town power plants take 10 years to construct on average. Base- in South Africa. It uses two units, each with a maximum load technologies like coal and gas take 4 and 2 years generation capacity of 960MWe, to generate 5% of the respectively to construct on average [3]. A large sum of countries’ total electricity supply [18]. The first unit was money is borrowed to cover the capital cost of the nuclear 3

plant. During the construction time there is an outflow of C. Operation and Maintenance Cost funds and no return on investment. The longer the Plant maintenance is performed to ensure operational safely construction period the more expensive the project and to maximize plant efficiency, ultimately maximizing the becomes due to interest and inflation on the initial profit. Operation and maintenance costs are variable for amount. Interest and inflation are implicitly related nuclear plants and depend on factors such as plant size and macro-economic factors. Construction of a new plant age. These costs account for 20% of the levelized cost of cannot be put on hold until these conditions become electricity (LCOE) on average [3]. favourable. Material costs can fluctuate to both the O & M costs are related to a limited number of cost elements, borrowers’ benefit and detriment. However, hedging including insurance, regular maintenance, repair, spare parts through contract mechanisms can mitigate the detrimental and administration (taxes, labour, salaries etc). The insurance factors of material price increases through mechanisms and the regular maintenance cost can be easily estimated, by such as interest rate protection (IRP) and contract price simply obtaining a standard contract of the plants life time. adjustments (CPAs). Once a nuclear plant is built the The cost of repair and spare parts is harder to quantify and is operational and maintenance cost are comparatively low dependent the applied maintenance scheme. Generally Nuclear [3]. Power Plants (NPPs) have been maintained following various A.2) Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) Cost maintenance schemes such as preventative maintenance and corrective maintenance. Operational Decision Making (ODM) EPC cost refers to all components which are used to ensure has been identified as a key factor in improving plant safety the plant produces the expected output of power, (i.e. and reliability [22]. turbines, generators, reactors, steam generators, pressurizer, condenser, etc). The estimated cost of the D. Waste-related Cost above mentioned components can be found from a vendor. The cost of managing and disposing of NPP waste represents about 5% of the total cost of the generated electricity unit Currently, South Africa does not possess local companies price. Most nuclear utilities are required by government to put and skills to design and manufacture these components for aside a levy (e.g. 0.1c/KWh in the USA, 0.14 c/KWh in a nuclear plant. Therefore the country has to rely on France) to provide for management and disposal of their imported technologies and knowledge. This foreign wastes [4]. reliance requires more expenditure than is required for NPP arrangements for paying for waste management vary. locally developed coal technologies. The key objective is however always the same: to ensure that sufficient funds are available when they are needed. A.3) Owners Cost Although a country like France obtains 17% of its nuclear Owners’ cost refers to the land, cooling infrastructure, energy from reprocessed fuel, South Africa should not opt for administration and associated buildings, site works, project reprocessing its spent fuel as it does not have the reprocessing management, licenses etc, cost escalation and inflation. facilities. Owners cost may include transmission infrastructure [18]. Hazardous waste must be sealed and stored. This process Owner’s cost is subject to the location of the constructed incurs labour and safety measurement costs. Generally for the plant. A nuclear plant located in a rural area will cost less plant life time of 60 years, 5% of the capital cost can be spent than a plant located in an urban area. on waste related issues [3]. B. Fuel Cost Radioactive waste in South Africa is deposited underground at The fuel used at a nuclear plant is natural uranium, enriched to the nuclear waste disposal site in the . 3.25%. On a global scale Russia possesses the world’s highest Vaalputs has enough capacity for the waste generated by a uranium–enrichment capacities. It is planning to set up the newly built nuclear power plant. This means that another piece world’s first nuclear fuel reserve to ensure uninterrupted of land will not have to be assessed and purchased in order to supplies for the world’s nuclear power reactors [7]. On 5 dispose of nuclear waste. August 2010 the South African government renewed the fuel enrichment supply with a seven year contract, which will E. Decommissioning Cost resume from 2011 – 2017. The fuel will be enriched at Russia Decommissioning costs are about 9 – 15% of the initial capital and then transported to Sweden, Vasterus, where the fuel will cost of a nuclear power plant [3]. The main idea behind be fabricated and then transported to South Africa at the decommissioning is to restore the site to its original state, nuclear plant [5]. complying with the safety operating standards.

The fuel’s contribution to the overall cost of the electricity A pie chart showing the percentage cost break-down for a produced is relatively small compared with other energy nuclear plant is given in fig. 1. technologies at 5% of the total cost. Nuclear fuel can be reprocessed or disposed directly to the waste tanks. Reprocessing extracts more energy from spent fuel but the process is expensive. Spent fuel from Koeberg is disposed directly and not reprocessed. 4

suspended. While similar clauses may go publicly unnoticed, Nuclear Power Plant cost break-down it is imperative that adequate plans are developed to deal with an increase in the amount of nuclear waste disposal. In the authors opinion, storage of nuclear waste is not a long term 5% Capital cost 10% viable option. Fuel cost Rising sea levels Operation and Conventional nuclear plants utilizing PWR technology are 20% 60% maintenance built on the coast to use sea water for cooling and transferring Waste-related cost heat. Climate scientists are suggesting that there could be a rise in sea levels. Long terms solutions to negate these effects Decommissioning are to wall off a plant, or move the plant backwards. 5% Security of supply Eskom procures conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication Fig. 1: Nuclear power plant cost break-down services on world markets. Nearly half of its enrichment is from Tenex in Russia. However, historically South Africa has VII. CHALLENGES PRESENTED BY NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY sought self-sufficiency in its fuel cycle [18]. In the South Choice of technology African context, nuclear power does not reduce the risks Twenty five years have passed without South Africa building associated with security of supply since a nuclear plant still another nuclear plant. A move towards Generation III relies on other international countries to provide it with a technologies could be considered. The aim in developing constant supply of fuel. South Africa has the fourth highest Generation III reactors was to design out many of the issues uranium deposits in the world [6], but there is currently no that were encountered in the construction and operation of the local capacity for uranium enrichment or to fabricate nuclear existing Generation II plants. Generation III offer better levels fuel. of performance and reliability as well as enhanced safety systems. The aim is to reduce the construction time through VIII. ADVANTAGES OF INCORPORATING NUCLEAR POWER simplification of design. The intention is to offer, as far as Increased base-load possible, a standardised design worldwide to reduce the risk of The load demand is increasing in the cape region at a rate of construction delays caused by design changes. However, 4% per annum. An additional base-load is needed to support South Africa posses the local experience and skills to deal industry growth in this region. Nuclear power can offer a base with Generation II type technology. Eskom has said that it load in the southern part of the country. Currently energy has would be looking for low-cost options and consider to be imported from the north to meet the energy demand [1]. Generation II designs from China or South Korea. The capital cost per installed MWe of a Chinese CPR-1000 reactor is said Electrical network diversification to be about half that of an AP1000 or EPR [18]. The introduction of nuclear energy will diversify the electrical energy sector in South Africa and reduce coal plants capacity Pebble Bed Modular Reactor factors hence reduce the CO emissions. For the past ten years South Africa has been attempting to develop their own PBMR (Pebble Bed Modular Reactor) IX. POTENTIAL IDENTIFIED SITES: reactor to meet the energy demands. However the government has stopped funding the project and PBMR has not attracted In 2005 Eskom identified five potential sites for the placement any foreign investment [18]. of conventional nuclear plants utilizing PWR technology. After additional evaluation three primary placement sites were Reducing the capital cost identified in 200 [19]. These were namely and It is estimated that more than 60% of the nuclear plant cost Bantamsklip of the Western Cape Province and Thyspunt in goes towards the capital cost [2], therefore in order to make the Eastern Cape Province. A draft environmental impact nuclear technology economically competitive, capital costs report (EIR) was published in March 2010 recommending the need to be reduced. Reducing capital costs can be achieved by: Thyspunt site in Eastern Cape province near Oyster Bay [18]. • Strict construction scheduling and planning Thuyspunt Nuclear Transmission Requirement • Standardizing the design of reactors This plant will help meet the energy demand in the Eastern • Simplifying designs to their simplest form. Cape. The lines required to integrate the plant to the grid are

as follows: Political and public acceptance Suitably established plans to deal with regulation, safety and • 2 X Thuyspunt – Dedisa 400 KV lines non proliferation are key factors for nuclear to gain political • 1 X Thuyspunt – Grassridge 400 KV line and public acceptance. It is stated in the Eskom Annual Report 2010 that NECSA (Nuclear Energy Corporation of South • New 400/132 KV Port Elizabeth substation Africa) is no longer appointed to operate Vaalputs, so the transport of waste to Vaalputs has been temporarily • 2 X Thuyspunt – New P/E substation 400 KV lines 5

• 1 X New P/E substation – Dedisa 400 KV line The authors’ recommendation is to follow IRP guidelines, but • 1 X New P/E substation – Grassridge 400 KV line assign project leaders and acquire investors to turn the IRP guidelines into an executable plan. Nuclear Generation II Currently, the Eastern Cape does not have any base load technology is reliable, tested and South Africa is familiar with supply and relies on electricity imports. It estimated that more the technology. Constructing nuclear plants at the coast will than 400 MW is lost through transmission from the north allow NNPs to utilize sea water, saving valuable fresh water. eastern regions of the Highveld. A line diagram of the A site for the first installation of a new nuclear plant has been transmission integration of Thyspunt is shown in fig. 2 identified in the Eastern Cape at Thyspunt. Cheaper appendix A. Generation II technologies that comply with safety standards should be utilized first to gain operational experience. Should X. MACRO-ECONOMIC IMPACT OF A NUCLEAR PLANT the nuclear plan prove successful, this will open up a window A new nuclear power plant will be to contribute to the GDP of of opportunity for a switch to the more economical Generation the particular province in which it is located. Job creation is a III units in the future. large positive factor for a new power plant. This is of vital importance due to the fact that the employment rate in South XII. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Africa is estimated to be approximately 24% [20]. The authors gratefully acknowledge the support and The government has stated that a fleet roll out of nuclear research infrastructure provided by Electrical Engineering energy could require an average of 13000 workers to Department, University of Cape Town for carrying out this implement [23].The Western Cape’s economy is more diverse. research work. A large amount of work could be outsourced to companies within the region. XIII. REFERENCES

[1] ‘(2010) ESKOM website’. [Online]. Available at However if one considers poverty alleviations as a criterion to http://www.eskom.co.za/ choose the nuclear site, the Eastern Cape will be the province [2] ‘The cost of generating electricity’, PB Power for the Royal Academy of which will benefit most. It will increase the average household Engineering, 2004. [Online]. Available at Web page URL: income and provide the opportunity for economic growth [8]. http://www.raeng.org.uk/news/publications/list/reports/Cost_Generation _Commentary.pdf, [3] World Nuclear Association, “The Economics of Nuclear Power”, pp. 1- XI. CONCLUSIONS 11, 2010. [Online]. Available at http://www.world- nuclear.org/info/inf02.html The implementation of additional nuclear power in South [4] World nuclear Association, “Radioactive Waste Management”, pp. 1-53, Africa faces many challenges. Specifically to South Africa, a 2009. [Online]. Available at :http://www.world- comparatively high capital cost of nuclear and the abundance nuclear.org/info/inf04.html of coal reserves with the absence of carbon tax means nuclear [5] Nuclear power industry news, “Eskom picks Westinghouse to fuel Koeberg NNP”, [Online]. Available at simply cannot compete in terms of cost. South African nuclear http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear_power_industry_news/b/nuclear_power fuel is enriched and fabricated in foreign countries. Therefore _news/archive/2009/12/02/eskom-picks-westinghouse-to-fuel-koeberg- nuclear power cannot play the role of ensuring the security of npp.aspx supply. The need to import fuel also raises costs. Waste [6] US Nuclear Energy Foundation, “Generation IV Nuclear Reactors”. [Online]. Available at management problems remain to be addressed. http://www.usnuclearenergy.org/GEN%20IV%20Reactors.htm [7] D. Zaks, Yahoo news, “Russia opens world’s first nuclear fuel bank”, 1 The capital cost of nuclear technologies remains high due to Dec. 2010. [Online]. Available at the large lead time required for completion of a project. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20101201/twl-russia-opens-world-s-first- nuclear-f-4c10a1a.html However, there is no base load technology that displays an [8] NF, A. C. nuclear opportunities fund, “Nuclear industry fundamentals”. advantage both regionally and internationally. [Online]. Available at http://www.investnuclear.com/ni_fundamentals/ [9] M. Watt, ‘Electricity supply options and consequences’, pp. 11, Dec. The most recent IRP draft suggests nuclear contribute 14% of 2009. [Online]. Available at http://www.eepublishers.co.za/article/electricity-supply-options-and- the 41346MW generation capacity expansion. It outlines a consequences.html. balanced scenario whereby renewable resources are installed [10] [Online]. Available at http://www.tradeinvestsa.co.za/news/421728.htm between the years of 2010-2020, following by the roll out of a [11] “Integrated resource plan for electricity”, draft report, rev. 2, ver. 8, 8 nuclear fleet starting in the year 2023. Nuclear does require Oct. 2010. [Online]. Available at www.energy.gov.za/.../INTEGRATED_RESOURCE_PLAN_ELECTRI high amounts of capital risk as well as the cost of CITY_2010.pdf decommissioning and waste disposal. In return, nuclear offers [12] International Energy Agency, “Key world energy statistics”, 2010. very low-carbon base-load electricity at stable costs over time. [13] International Energy Agency, “Energy Technology Perspectives 2010: An alternative approach is being investigated to exclude Scenarios and strategies to 2050”. [14] S. Adee and E. Guizzo, “Reactors redux”, IEEE Spectrum, vol 47, issue additional nuclear energy [23]. In this case, the question must 8., pp. 25-32, Aug. 2010. be asked as to whether the country will be able to meet [15] World Nuclear Association, “Nuclear power in France”. [Online]. imposed emissions limits. If the decision is taken to forgo Available at http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf40.html france nuclear energy, clean coal technologies will have to be [16] World Nuclear Association, “Nuclear power in USA”. [Online]. Available at http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf41.html implemented. These are inherently expensive and consume a [17] World Nuclear Association, “Nuclear power in Ukraine”. [Online]. vast amount of energy. Available at http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf46.html 6

[18] World Nuclear Association, “Nuclear power in South Africa”. [Online]. XIV. APPENDIX A Available at http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf88.html [19] Eskom Holdings Limited, “Nuclear 1 EIA: Final scoping report”, Issue 1.0, July 2008. [Online]. Available at http://www.eskom.co.za/content/Nuclear%201%20FSR%20Ch%2011% 20Conclusions%20and%20Recommendations.pdf [20] “South African unemployment rate”. [Online]. Available at http://www.indexmundi.com/south_africa/unemployment_rate.html [21] T, Porter, “Nuclear Transmission lines EIA - Bantamsklip - 2,” 2009, pp. 1-25. [22] The magazine of the world association of nuclear operators, “Inside WANO”, vol. 14, no. 2, 2006. [Online]. Available at http://www.wano.org.uk/WANO_Documents/Inside_WANO/Vol14No2 /Vol14No2_en.pdf. [23] T. Creamer, Engineering news, “SA mulls power scenario that excludes nuclear, but moves ahead with 10-GW fleet planning, 2 Dec. 2010. [Online]. Available at http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/sa- mulls-power-scenario-that-excludes-nuclear-but-moves-ahead-with-10- gw-fleet-planning-2010-12-02

IX. BIOGRAPHY

M. Matshinyatsimbi is currently a BSc (Eng.) student of Electrical Fig. 2: Transmission integration map from Thyspunt to the grid [21] Engineering Department of University of Cape Town, South Africa. Email: [email protected]

W. Yuill is currently a BSc (Eng.) student of Electrical Engineering Department of University of Cape Town, South Africa. Email: [email protected]

S.Chowdhury received her BEE and PhD in 1991 and 1998 respectively from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. She was connected to M/S M.N.Dastur & Co. Ltd as Electrical Engineer from 1991 to 1996. She served Women’s Polytechnic, Kolkata, India as Senior Lecturer from 1998 to 2006. She is currently the Senior Lecturer in the Electrical Engineering Department of The University of Cape Town, South Africa. She became member of IEEE in 2003. She visited Brunel University, UK and The University of Manchester, UK several times on collaborative research programme. She has published two books and over 100 papers mainly in power systems. She is a Member of the IET (UK) and IE(I) and Member of IEEE(USA). Email: [email protected]

S.P. Chowdhury received his BEE, MEE and PhD in 1987, 1989 and 1992 respectively from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. In 1993, he joined E.E.Deptt. of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India as Lecturer and served till 2008 in the capacity of Professor. He is currently Associate Professor in Electrical Engineering Department of the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He became IEEE member in 2003. He visited Brunel University, UK and The University of Manchester, UK several times on collaborative research programme. He has published two books and over 150 papers mainly in power systems and renewable energy. He is a fellow of the IET (UK) with C.Eng. IE (I) and the IETE (I) and Member of IEEE (USA). He is a member of Knowledge management Board and Council of the IET (UK).Email: [email protected]