THE EFFECTS OF PUMPING RESTRICTIONS EFFICIENCY: IMPLICATIONS FOR ESKOM'S TIME-OF-USE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY TO RURAL AREAS

Abstract

Irrigation fanners and Eskom are unsure about the amount of incentive required (saving in the cost of electricity) by irrigation fanners to prevent net returns from falling under load management. The adoption of Eskom's proposed Ruraflex load management programme will be affected by the risk preference of the irrigation fanner, the application capacity of the irrigation system, the plant extractable soil water (PESW) of the soil and the efficiency with which irrigation management can adapt to load management. Load management programmes can potentially increase the economic efficiency of some irrigation farms because the amount of incentive required by irrigation farmers varies between R6/ha and R282/ha. An increase in the application capacity of an irrigation system dramatically diminishes the risk of income losses when insufficient irrigation water is applied due to reduced pumping capacity caused by load management. Further research should be focused on the tradeoffs between the reduced risk of income losses and the capital outlay needed for increasing the application capacity of irrigation systems.