Johannesburg mayor Mpho Moerane launched on Tuesday the metro’s energy mix strategy, which is aimed at procuring enough electricity to meet about a quarter of its daily demand from alternative sources in a move aimed at decreasing the metro’s dependency on Eskom.
In the alternative energy sustainability strategy, which includes solar and gas, the metro’s power utility, City Power, will transition from an electricity distribution company to an energy service provider, said Moerane.
He was speaking at a media briefing at the diesel-powered John Ware Gas Turbine Generator power plant in Fordsburg.
The rollout of the plan coincides with Eskom’s announcement on Monday that it will extend scheduled power cuts to remove 2,000MW from the national grid.
And it comes days before the local government elections, in which electricity supply is a key issue for voters.
Moerane, who took the helm at the ANC-led municipality earlier this month, said the strategy is far from electioneering.
The race for alternative energy sources by business and local government authorities comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa lifted the threshold at which private companies can generate their own electricity without a licence to 100MW in an amendment of schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act.
“The amendment enables the city to shift our operating models and look for new, innovative ways to use the grid and bill for the services provided, hence only now can we unveil our strategy,” said Moerane.
New capacity
In terms of the strategy, Johannesburg — SA’s economic hub, which contributes nearly 20% to GDP and about 40% to the economy of Gauteng — will source 200MW of electricity from photovoltaic farms and rooftop suppliers.
“We will also be able to support another 200MW of private photovoltaic electricity generation on the grid through wheeling and trading,” the mayor said.
The strategy includes sourcing up to 50MW of gas-powered electricity generation, and the addition of 25MW capacity from the waste-to-energy project at the Robinson Deep landfill.
“In total, the strategy is designed to secure almost 500MW of new generating capacity. This subsequently enables the city to effectively shift from the traditional source that is our national power utility, Eskom, to alternative energy sources,” said Moerane.
Demand for electricity in the City of Johannesburg is about 2,000MW, according to information on Eskom’s website, making the municipality one of the biggest consumers in the country and reflecting its central role in driving the SA economy.
Last week City Power signed a memorandum of understanding, a legally non-binding document that signals the willingness of the parties to move forward with a contract, with Eskom to explore the best possible way for City Power to take over Eskom-supplied areas in Joburg, including Soweto, Orange Farm, Ivory Park, Diepsloot and Sandton.
The metro has also recently signed a new power purchase agreement with the privately owned Kelvin power station that will be in force for two years.
For every 1,000MW, or one stage of load-shedding done by Eskom, City Power is required to drop 100MW of capacity from the grid. Moerane said that in terms of the agreement the power station will provide Joburg with an additional 220MW instead of the previously reported 180MW.
Moerane said the metro aims to secure 35% of electricity supply from renewable and cleaner sources of energy by 2030.
“This means the city is set to reduce our reliance for generating capacity on our national power utility by up to 15%, and thereby minimising the chances of load-shedding [by Eskom] ... the added alternative sources’ capacity will exempt Johannesburg from load-shedding in the near future,” said Moerane, a former Eskom employee.
The strategy’s execution will start by the end of the week with the issuing of an official public request for proposals from independent power producers.
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