Johannesburg, South Africa\u2019s economic hub, has secured bids from private producers to provide 92 MW of electricity to help shield the city from Eskom’s power cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The local government and Johannesburg utility City Power issued a request for short-term power purchase agreements last year and have now secured four independent power producers (IPPs) through these agreements, said the MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services (EISD) Jack Sekwaila in a statement on Thursday (24 August 2023). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is part of City Power’s 10-point plan to lessen the impact of load-shedding by generating 500 MW of energy by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The four IPPs will supply power from a variety of sources, including waste-to-energy (20 MW), gas-to-power (31 MW), and solar generation technology (40.8 MW).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The gas-to-power IPPs will offer the City the flexibility to generate baseload power, which is 24\/7 power generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The selected bids of various generation technologies from the companies provide cheaper electricity than using Eskom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sekwaila noted that, unlike the 20-year PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) that requires approval by the Minister of the DMRE as per Section 34 of the Electricity Regulation Act, The STPPP programme targets installations with excess capacity of 1 MW and above to improve the City of Joburg\u2019s energy security. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One MW is enough to supply around 650 households, according to Eskom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The STPPPs are a major step forward for City Power in its efforts to reduce reliance on Eskom. The power from the IPPs will be cheaper than what City Power currently procures from Eskom, and two of the IPPs are ready to connect to the grid immediately,” said Sekwaila.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the STPPPs, City Power is also implementing a number of other initiatives to reduce the impact of load-shedding. These include installing rooftop solar at over 700 sites, installing high mast solar public street lights, and increasing the number of solar water heating systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another part of the plan is the Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG) programme. City Power is working on implementing its NERSA-approved feed-in tariff, where customers with PV solar systems can feedback \/ import their excess power to the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n