Mzolisi Witbooi
8 March 2007
The Western Cape is poised for another energy crisis this year after the Chevron Refinery in Milnerton announced a planned maintenance shutdown that is expected to cut short the supply of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) for more than a month.
This means that petroleum gas supplies to the province will have to be secured from inland areas.
Last year Cape Town and its surrounds were plagued by electricity power cuts that lasted for months due to mechanical problems at the Koeberg power plant.
At the time Eskom set up exchange points where people could swop two-plate electric stoves for gas stoves in a bid to reduce electricity consumption.
Then in January Eskom had more power supply problems that affected the whole country.
Chevron Refinery spokes-woman Phumi Nhlapo said all businesses had been notified at the beginning of the year that the refinery would shut down from March 19 until the first week of May for maintenance.
"This is an extensive maintenance programme on the refinery process equipment and associated controls," she said.
"In addition to the scheduled maintenance activities, significant capital improvements to the refinery will also be implemented.
"This essential maintenance work is to ensure the continued safe and reliable operation of the refinery," she said.
Nhlapo said the refinery would be operating at about two-thirds of its normal capacity during the period.
Asked whether the shut-down had been discussed with businesses, she said: "Contingency plans have been put in place to avoid interruption to fuel supply."
Nhlapo said they had in-formed their bulk LPG customers at the beginning of the year about the shutdown "to allow them to make appropriate contingency plans".
SA Chamber of Business president Deidre Penfold said LPG supplies to the province "will have to be secured from other inland areas and from imports".
"Faced with this situation, forward planning by LPG users will be essential," she said.
Penfold said businesses in the province would be meeting the suppliers in order to seek assurances that all efforts will be made to ensure minimal disruptions to LPG use in the Western Cape.
Chevron does not supply LPG directly to businesses but sells it in bulk to gas suppliers such as Afrox.
The director of the Cape Regional Chamber of Commerce, Albert Schuitmaker, said: "We are very disturbed to learn about the maintenance programme in autumn/winter when the need for LPG will increase.
"Business is reliant on LPG and is not impressed with this potential disruption in supplies. This points towards the need for a very proper national co-ordination of LPG supplies."
Nhlapo said authorities, including the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, had been informed about the plan-ned maintenance shutdown.
The refinery underwent a planned maintenance shutdown annually, she said.
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