Cape Town’s big plan to stop load shedding is coming this week
Geordin Hill-Lewis, the Cape Town Mayor, says the city will be issuing a 500MW dispatchable energy tender to fight load shedding.
The city said that the new tender forms an important pillar of its plan to protect residents from the first four stages of load shedding within the next three years.
“Cape Town’s biggest power purchase tender – of 500MW – will be issued for competitive proposals this week on 6 April 2023,” said Hill-lewis.
“We are confident that Cape Town will be the first metro to break free from the suffocating hold that Eskom has placed on our country, and in doing so enable meaningful economic growth and investment that helps more people into work over time,” he said.
The city said that the new tender would comprise of many elements.
This includes power generation purchases with plants that focus on dispatchable technologies, such as gas-to-power.
Moreover, the city will also seek competitive proposals from potential independent power producers (IPPs) to buy electricity from plants with dispatchable technologies.
The city said that the power sources need to generate a large amount of electricity and be within a city-supply area.
The city will enter into a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPAs) with successful bidders, and there is potential for multiple bidders to be awarded contracts.
On 29 March, Hill-Lewis announced the city’s budget, which included a R2.3 billion plan to end load shedding:
- R220 million to buy power from the open market
- R288 for the Power Heroes voluntary energy savings incentive scheme
- R53 million in ‘cash for power’ payments for solar power from residents and businesses
- R640 million on city-owned solar plants
- R50 million in battery storage
- R1 billion to operate Steenbras Hydro Pumped Storage Scheme.
The city said that the load shedding protection plan is progressing well, with phase 1 of the 200MW renewable energy from IPPs tender remaining on track.
It also expects to award contracts to preferred bidders this month for the Power Heroes Programme tender, which incentivises residents for voluntary energy savings via a third party.
In addition, the cash for power feed-in tariff increased by 10.15% for 2023/24, with an additional R0.25 per kWh incentive.
Finally, the city has issued a Request for Information which asks the market for energy trading solutions, which includes market operation and underwriting services, energy aggregation services and other energy trading platforms services.
Read: Cape Town to get lower electricity price hike this year
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