POWER POOL

The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) is the first formal international power pool in Africa. It was established with the primary aim of providing reliable and economical electricity supply to consumers in each of the SAPP member countries, while promoting the reasonable utilisation of natural resources and minimising environmental impacts.

SAPP has enabled its members to delay capital expenditure on new power plants due to the existence of regional interconnections and a coordinated power pool. This is an important factor in supporting the economic development of southern Africa.

Objectives of SAPP

The objectives of the SAPP are to:

  • Coordinate and cooperate in the planning and operation of electricity power systems to minimise costs while maintaining reliability, autonomy and self-sufficiency.
  • Increase interconnectivity between SADC countries to improve the reliability of power supplies.
  • Harmonise relationships between member utilities and facilitate cross-border electricity trading.
  • Provide a forum for the development of a world-class, robust, safe, efficient, reliable and stable interconnected electrical system in the southern African region.
  • Coordinate and enforce common regional standards for quality of supply, measurement and monitoring of system performance.
  • Facilitate the development of regional expertise through training programmes and research.
  • Increase access to electricity in rural communities.
  • Implement strategies that support sustainable development priorities.
  • Recover operational costs and equitably share benefits, including reductions in generating capacity and fuel costs, as well as improved utilisation of hydroelectric energy.

Challenges Facing SAPP

SAPP faces several major challenges, including:

  • Lack of infrastructure to deliver electricity.
  • Inadequate maintenance of existing infrastructure.
  • Limited funding to finance new investments.
  • Insufficient generation capacity, with excess capacity having been expected to run out by 2007.
  • High transmission and distribution losses.

The existence of regional interconnections and the power pool has allowed SAPP members to defer capital expenditure on new generation plants. This provides an important opportunity to support economic development across southern Africa by making more efficient use of existing generation resources and infrastructure.