Eskom not concerned about City of Joburg getting electricity from IPPs

Eskom chief executive officer (CEO) André de Ruyter says the City of Johannesburg’s efforts to fully exclude its residents from load shedding is not of concern to the power utility.

In an interview with eNCA on Tuesday, De Ruyter said the metropolitan municipality was free to procure its own power from Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

“We are not concerned at all by the move from the City of Joburg to reduce their reliance on Eskom, in fact we have anticipated this.

“It was three years ago when the president announced in the State of the Nation Address that metros in good financial standing will be able to buy electricity directly from IPPs. So this is not a new development.

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“How I read the situation is the city is following through on that opportunity created by the president,” he said.

The Eskom CEO added that the city’s move would relieve some pressure off the power utility.

“We welcome that because what it would entail is that an IPP would invest in additional generating capacity so if that move by the city can alleviate pressure on our generation system then I’m all for it.

“The first priority here is not to protect the interests of Eskom, the first priority is to protect the interests of South Africa by addressing the energy crisis,” De Ruyter said.

Energy Indaba

The City of Joburg this week held its two-day Energy Indaba at the Sandton Convention Centre, with the city’s mayor Mpho Phalatse saying that the metro could not realise its full economic potential due to Eskom’s lack of generation capacity and related load shedding.

Phalatse pointed out that in order to ensure adequate and uninterrupted electricity supply, the metro’s sustainable energy strategy would introduce an energy mix that includes IPPs and small-scale power generators.

“Clean energy provided by independent power producers will not only improve the city’s energy security but also respond positively to the climate change imperative,” Phalatse said.

READ MORE: City of Joburg rejects Eskom’s load shedding schedule

With Joburg procuring about 90% of its power from Eskom, Phalatse said the city could not turn around its energy supply challenges without working with partners in the private sector.

The mayor said the energy options under consideration by the metro were gas, smart grids and renewable energy options, including solar power.

She also said the city was aware that not all power disruptions in the city were caused by Eskom and load shedding, as some were due to the deliberate and criminal damage to electricity infrastructure by cable thieves.

Last year, the city had considered taking legal action against Eskom for the ongoing blackouts.

City of Cape Town

The City of Cape Town is also looking to free itself from Eskom’s load shedding shackles after the metro engaged with stakeholders in March for its first round of procurement of power from IPPs.

At the time the city’s mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis indicated that the tendering process was ongoing.

Hill-Lewis said he believed that reducing Cape Town’s reliance on Eskom should also ease pressure on the national grid, thereby lowering the likelihood of national load shedding.

READ MORE: City of Cape Town rejects Eskom’s ‘unaffordable’ electricity price hike

He also said the city was not looking at building its own power-generation facilities at this stage.

“We are having this debate internally in the city’s structures. Quite a few people think we should do our own project, but I have a fairly strong preference for IPPs.

“But, I do understand that if we do a storage project aimed at load shedding reduction, then there maybe – and I stress, maybe, a stronger argument for doing our own project, but that is still to be determined,” he said.

Additional reporting by Thapelo Lekabe