Eskom troubles open door to IPPs
The continuing troubles at Eskom open the way for independent renewable energy to play a greater role in the energy mix, Jeff Radebe, told the eighth Africa Power roundtable yesterday, according to a Business Day report. ‘Given the crisis at Eskom, I foresee a larger role for renewables,’ he said in opening the two-day event, hosted by DLO Energy Resources.
Radebe said that, although the first two rounds of the government’s renewable energy independent power producers procurement programme were expensive, ‘they are getting cheaper and cheaper all the time, despite what the opponents of renewables say’.
And according to a Netwerk24 report, Radebe also said legislation would be changed to allow and encourage municipalities with their own power stations to feed electricity into the grid.
He said several municipalities, in particular the large metros, have old power stations that stand idle at the moment. ‘(These power stations)…represent an opportunity for municipalities to increase income while also improving the country’s electricity reserve margin,’ Radebe said.
The DA, meanwhile, plans to approach the courts in its bid to ensure key municipalities under its control can buy electricity from IPPs. Yesterday, DA leader Mmusi Maimane, flanked by the mayors of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Cape Town, said DA-led municipalities were now pushing to procure power from IPPs, notes a Cape Argus report.
‘These rolling blackouts have a profound impact on our citizens. They have profound consequences on the hospitals and small businesses,’ said Maimane. He said he had instructed DA municipalities to write to Radebe – in compliance with the Electricity Regulation Act – and request permission to bypass Eskom.
Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato said his administration had already approached the Gauteng High Court after Radebe’s department did not approve its purchase of power from IPPs.
‘It is behind that decision that we have lodged an application with the Gauteng High Court to take the National Minister of Energy to court so that he can allow the City of Cape Town to buy power directly from IPPs,’ Plato said.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
