Following the announcement today by President Cyril Ramaphosa to amend schedule 2 of the Electricity Act to raise the threshold for self-generation from 1MW to 100MW, Executive Mayor Dan Plato says it is a step in the right direction towards achieving a more stable energy supply. The development means that companies can build their own generation facilities to supply energy needs. The City of Cape Town continues to call for the greater inclusion of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) into the energy mix to further ease the strain on the power supply from Eskom. Read more below:
The announcement by the President is a positive step towards easing pressure on the national grid, but unfortunately the benefits are unlikely to be felt in the short term.
We await the final amendment to the schedule, which will be published within 60 days. This will give us a clear understanding of how municipalities will be able to access surplus power generated by these private generation projects.
The City has been calling for National Government to speed up the process to permit municipalities to source power directly from Independent Power Producers (IPPs). The greater inclusion of IPPs into the energy mix would go a long way towards addressing the pressures of the ongoing power-supply crisis facing the country, which has further damaged an economy battered by Covid-19.
The City is often able to limit the impact of load-shedding and City-supplied customers thanks to the Steenbras Hydro Pump Station. Cape Town is the only city in South Africa where residents are spared the full impact through spare generation capacity.
We hope the permission for companies to create own generation capacity will give Eskom the space to resolve the ongoing challenges facing the power utility and become a more stable and sustainable energy provider.
The City is the most-energy efficient in South Africa:
We have extensive solar-powered photovoltaic (PV) and small-scale embedded generation programmes in place, which are ready to be extended.
The City also ensures it can protect its customers as far as possible during load-shedding through the Steenbras Hydro Pump Station, which enables one level of reduction in load-shedding to City-supplied customers.
The City has been preparing for a future where more affordable and cleaner energy can be procured by municipalities.
The City hopes to have a PV plant built by the City on the ground by approximately 2022/3 if all goes according to plan,
However, with the current Municipal Finance Management Act and Energy Regulation Act regulations, it could take up to five years from when a Determination is provided to having the first power from an IPP in our grid. Specialist studies are under way.
The City has always believed that local governments have the constitutional power and obligation to procure renewable energy and this is necessary to move away from the sole reliance on Eskom for energy supply.
A stable and cleaner energy supply will give the economies of Cape Town and other municipalities in the country a boost towards sustained recovery following the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy.
Source: City Of Cape Town