Powering the development needs of Praslin and La Digue: new challenges for PUC |01 September 2020
Energy powers human life. There is no residential or commercial activity that does not require a certain degree of energy in order to operate. Even the normal functioning of the human body requires energy from food on a daily basis.
With the global population swelling and economic growth on the rise in developing nations, humanity’s hunger for energy has reached unprecedented levels. Seychelles has not been spared from this trend. Issues associated with the level of investment required, rising expectations from the public, growing concerns over climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, have elevated the energy sector to one of national prominence.
Dynamic shifts in the global energy sector have however ushered in rapid transformations in the way energy is made available to the population. The Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) has been a major driving force behind the change in the energy landscape of Seychelles. Entrusted with the core mandate of ensuring that an efficient, safe and reliable supply of electricity is available on Mahé, Praslin and La Digue, PUC generated 447.9 GWh of electricity in 2019. This represents a 4.7% increase from 2018. Even with continual oil price volatilities and the specific economic, social and environmental vulnerabilities of Seychelles, PUC has ensured a 99.5% coverage of electricity supply to the population – a success story for Africa.
Electricity generation over the years has nonetheless been characterised by total dependence on fossil fuel. Currently, this stands at 52% of the total operating costs or R816 million annually. Major strides have nonetheless been made to encourage diversification into more renewal energy sources such as solar and wind. Moreover, in order to meet with increasing load demand from new customers and provide increasingly more reliable and affordable supply of electricity to existing customers, PUC is also investing heavily to upgrade its transmission and distribution infrastructure throughout the country.
However, in understanding the energy challenges of Seychelles, we often forget the difficulties involved in ensuring that electricity reaches a population scattered across many islands. This is the case for Praslin and La Digue. Increasing development on these two islands linked to the growth in their population and expanding commercial activities have driven up energy demand. Looking to the future, power demand for Praslin and La Digue is expected to increase by 5.5% annually. Successfully implementing new strategies to satisfy this growing energy demand, while meeting the challenges of resiliency and reliability, requires creativity, technical innovation and effective policy-making. This has been the approach taken by PUC.
PUC’s plans to boost electricity generation on Praslin and La Digue will be a mix of upgrading the capacity of existing infrastructure and investment in more cutting-edge technologies.
There is currently one station producing electricity for both Praslin and La Digue which is located at Baie Ste Anne. This station was established in 1981 and currently has 14MW of available capacity. A wide range of barriers have been cited as critical factors PUC has to confront to address the energy needs of the two islands. These include the logistical challenges of supplying fuel to Praslin and ensuring that there is adequate technical staff available on the island to operate the station.
Despite these hurdles, the refurbishment of the Baie Ste Anne Station remains a major priority. Entirely financed by PUC for the sum of R80 million, the modernisation of the station constitutes one of the major flagship projects of the company. A major component of the refurbishment includes limiting the emissions coming out of the station. This follows the decision taken by government in 2017 to keep the power station at Baie Ste Anne rather than relocate it following concerns raised by residents in the vicinity about the noise pollution it caused. Following a thorough evaluation and in consultation with the residents, it was decided that it would be more cost effective to keep the station in its current location. The residents were offered the option to relocate their homes or stay if the environmental performance of the station improves after the refurbishment.
In order to limit the noise pollution, PUC has had to refurbish completely the station with acoustic panels. The exhaust stacks have also been refitted with high-performance silencers and devices to convert the pollutant gases into less harmful ones. The ongoing project is already showcasing very promising results with emissions already drastically reduced.
Additional projects for the station would include installing more generators in order to replace the existing ones which were installed in the 1980s. The new generators would be designed to provide a reliable and fuel-efficient power supply, while complying with all the latest and most stringent environmental regulations.
“This is an important project for Praslin and La Digue,” the chief executive of PUC, Philippe Morin, stated. “A reliable and stable electricity supply for these two islands are important prerequisites for improving the standard of living of the population and encouraging economic growth. The support of the local community would be crucial in guaranteeing the successful completion of this project,” he added.
Other work nearing completion on Praslin include the running of an underground cable through the Vallée de Mai to Grand Anse. This will provide electricity to the coastal areas stretching from Anse Kerlan via Grand Anse to Anse Consolation.
Negotiations are also underway for an additional site to be allocated for the building of a sub-station at Grand-Anse Praslin in a bid to cater for the growing electricity demand and guarantee reliability of supply. This sub-station and the accompanying overhead lines would link Mont Plaisir to Anse Lazio thus providing PUC with more power transfer flexibility in the event of breakdowns.
Another major work being implemented by PUC is to reinforce the underground cable network from Baie Ste Anne to Côte d’Or and beyond. This cable project has encountered considerable delay in view of wayleave difficulties to establish a site for an associated substation at Marie-Jeanne Estate.
The implementation of most of these projects has not been without major hurdles to overcome. Getting private land owners to agree for PUC staff to enter their property and place the necessary cables has been challenging. Compounding those difficulties are the complaints the public makes about the damage made to the roads when the underground cables are being laid. The simple inconvenience associated with such public works does not however outweigh the multifaceted long-term benefit that such investments bring to Praslin and La Digue.
For La Digue specifically, efforts are underway to secure $10 million for the placement of a third 8km (double-armored) underwater cable connected to Praslin. This came as a result of the 2019 incident whereby there were electricity disruptions on La Digue following a fault on one of the two cables servicing the island from Praslin. This incident demonstrated how fragile the energy supply situation could be for La Digue and highlighted the need to install a much stronger third cable which could withstand the hostile environment of the seabed. Once this cable is installed, PUC will need to ensure that it has enough technical expertise inhouse to handle the maintenance work of this cable and other associated equipment. This is why much emphasis is being placed by the company in staff training and development.
Pending the installation of the third undersea cable, two backup generator sets of 2MW combined capacity have been installed at Dan Goulo, La Digue. These two generators will enable PUC to maintain continuity of supply on the island in the event of breakdown on one of the two cables. To improve coordination, steps are also being taken to relocate the generators next to the site earmarked for the sewerage treatment plant at L’Union Estate.
Despite the additional costs of operating on these two islands and the major investments planned going forward, it is important to note that the tariff for electricity on Praslin and La Digue still remain the same as Mahé. These are inherent components of PUC’s commitment to support Seychelles’ bid in meeting Goal 7 of the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) for affordable and clean energy. PUC’s impact for the country therefore transcends national boundaries to one of global importance that is spearheading Seychelles’ international standing as a thriving and confident country ready for the challenges of the coming decades.
Contributed by PUC