Utilities

Water provision in the dry regions of the Northern Cape presents particular challenges.

Electricity

Eskom is South Africa’s national electricity utility, generating about 95% of the country’s electricity supply. Eskom has undertaken to increase capacity to meet growing demands. However, Eskom’s plans to increase its national capacity by 40 000 megawatts in the period to 2025 have had to be scaled down due to the global economic recession.

A project to build a concentrating solar power (CSP) demonstration plant in the Northern Cape is among the schemes that have been mothballed. An estimated R5-billion was to be spent on building the 100MW plant. Sixteen square kilometres of land has been identified near Upington and Eskom is now looking for private partners.

In October 2010, the national minister of energy signed a memorandum of understanding with the Clinton Climate Initiative to investigate building a solar energy park in South Africa. The park will provide 5 000MW and, with the Northern Cape having been found by academics to be the best possible place to locate solar-energy sites, the province can look forward to investment in this sector.

Water

The Orange River basin is the largest in South Africa, and much of this basin is located in the Northern Cape. The high degree of activity that takes place along the banks of the river means that the natural runoff is diminished quickly. Water from the Vanderkloof and Gariep dams is used for irrigation and hydro-electric power generation, but water from the Orange River in the Northern Cape is hardly used at all for domestic or industrial purposes.

The lack of surface water in many areas means that groundwater is an important resource. In areas of naturally poor-quality water, special management techniques have to be used to improve water quality for particular uses.

In the dry north-western regions of the province Namakwa Water supplies water to municipalities and mines in the Namaqualand area.

Sedibeng Water supplies bulk and retail water and sanitation services to municipalities and mines. Sedibeng’s headquarters are in the Free State town of Bothaville. The company won a Silver Arrow Award for being the province’s best water provider in August 2009.