As the warnings of continued load-shedding and unstable electricity supply during the winter months continue, the Western Cape government has announced that they have allocated nearly R70 million to help municipalities to cut ties with struggling Eskom over the next few years.
The Western Cape government tabled their budget on Tuesday, allocating R48.8 million over the medium term and a further R20 million in the provincial reserves for the new project that will see municipalities shedding Eskom by generating and selling their own power, as well as allowing them to buy electricity from other independent producers.
Drakenstein, Mossel Bay, Overstrand, Saldanha Bay, Stellenbosch, and Swartland will receive assistance to start generating or buying their own power over the course of the next year.
Among other interventions, their electricity distribution systems will be technically evaluated to confirm whether the municipalities can support new electricity generation and energy trading.
According to David Maynier, provincial minister of finance and economic opportunities for the Western Cape, load-shedding is costing the province R75 million per day.
This comes after Eskom chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer had said that South Africa will only likely see an increase in power reliability towards September, after the country’s winter months.
The company is trying to keep up with urgent maintenance while burning expensive diesel to keep the lights on. But its long-standing financial constraints are being worsened by municipal debts (totalling R35.2 billion) and operating losses (exceeding R20 billion) – while the pandemic saw delays in its maintenance plans, plus disruptions in the supply of coal and diesel.
On options for future power sources, André De Ruyter said the utility would concentrate on solar, wind, and natural gas.
“We welcome the further contribution of 2,600MW from wind and solar,” he said.
The shift is in line with growing pressure globally to generate power from renewable energy rather than fossil fuels.
