By:Nghiinomenwa-vali Erastus
Individuals or groups of investors can enter the electricity transmission market as independent power transmitters by building their networks and maintaining them.
Nampower only holds a monopoly over the consumer-funded grid infrastructures.
This was confirmed by both the Electricity Control Board Chief Executive Officer, Robert Kahimise, and his General Manager for Regulation, Pinehas Mutota.
The revelation came at the time the regulator confessed that the current grid does not have adequate capacity to export locally generated power to the lucrative regional market of the Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP).
“Let the investors strengthen the current transmission network,” said Kahimse, adding that this should be done as long as the Namibian consumers do not subsidise the extension, because the current infrastructure was funded by the consumers.
Private investment is welcome, he said, if they can manage it at their own cost.
The existing transmission infrastructures can only export 780megawatts (MW), while 1.3GW of export licence has been approved.
The 1.3GW export licences were issued to 12 potential Independent power producers (IPPs). In terms of capacity, they are dominated by the planned Nathaniel Maxuilili Power Plant in Walvis Bay, which is projected to cost over N$14 billion to develop and generate approximately 586MW of electricity.
Galen Energy (Pty) Ltd plans to generate 178.7MW through Solar PV, while Schonau Solar Energy plans to generate 124.94MW through Solar PV. They all plan to export to the SAPP.
Nampower, through their modelling of the transmission capacity available, gives an offer letter that details out if the planned energy can be evacuated or exported to the targeted destination.
ECB has also indicated that it will also issue IPP Transmission Guidelines soon that will guide Nampower on how they will treat IPPs that intend to utilise the country’s grid infrastructure.
Kahimise added that the current transmission infrastructure is fully funded by consumers and is entrusted to Nampower to manage it.
Thus, making it a monopoly which only applies to the consumer-funded infrastructure as the whole market is open for individual investors to build and operate their own infrastructures.
Namibia has two exporting points via Zambia and South Africa. The Zambian point is a 220KV transmission line while the southern region point is a 400KV line.
However, with South Africa facing transmission issues, the southern point has been experiencing constraints for it to be utilised by local exporters.
Kahimise added thatNamibia’s dream is to become a net exporter of electricity. Hence, the country needs power plants to be established, bit also needs to upgrade its existing transmission infrastructures if it wants to export more electricity.
Mutoto said the wider deficit in the regional market attracts better premiums compared to the local market, adding it is more incentivising for the investors to sell their energy commodity to the regional market.
He explained that the ECB will consider independent power transmitters who want to invest in expanding the grid into the regional markets.
He said the regulator has recognised the need for more interconnectors. Initially, the investment in interconnectors was to import but now the country needs to export.
Mutota said more interconnectors are now needed for export purposes, if the country is to realise its ambition of being a net exporter of electricity, while the same time ensuring that there is no duplication of transmission infrastructures that are going to be stranded.
He indicated that even though Nampower was given the mandate to manage the government and consumer-funded grid infrastructure, at the market level private interconnectors are welcome to come into the transmission market.
The aim is to connect customers and countries to enable IPPs to sell their power locally and in the region.
Currently, out of 26 eligible contestable customers, 20 are already registered and three of the remaining six have applied to the ECB for registration which will be finalised before the end of September 2023.
This will expand the market for the Modified Single Buyer which enables contestable customers to source 30% of their power needs from IPPs.
All of the registered contestable customers are at different stages of negotiations with potential IPPs for the supply of electricity on bilateral agreements, the ECB said.
Beyond the current generating capacity and several IPPs in the pipeline, the country’s green hydrogen projects also include large-scale solar farms and wind projects to power the electrolysis process.
Kahimise indicated that for now, the planned renewable energy projects for green hydrogen are stand-alone, saying that they will see how the pilot projects will operate, and more importantly, the surplus they will have if it can be fed into the grid.
As for now, Kahimise stated, the ECB will only play the key role of registering/licensing IPPs.
NamPower operates and maintains a transmission network across the country with over 34,000 km of lines. Email: erastus@thevillager.com.na