Independent power producers can ‘help avoid load shedding’

The department of mineral resources and energy said it was considering bringing independent power producers (IPPs) from bid window 4 into the mainstream power grid to ensure electricity supply for the country.

According to Business Report, the SA Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) said yesterday current operating wind farms could add 500 Megawatts (MW) immediately to the national grid.

“The plants have excess capacity of about 500MW available immediately. These can also be short-term contracts and doesn’t have to be viewed as long-term commitments,” said Ntombifuthi Ntuli, CEO of SAWEA.

She said the wind industry could supply electricity through signing private power purchase agreements (PPAs), which should address a lot of the short-term capacity challenges and ultimately avoid load shedding.

In a statement, the department said it would meet with the electricity regulator Nersa to conclude on matters of concurrence so it can assist the ministry.

“As part of efforts to ensure security of electricity supply, the minister has considered short- and medium-term interventions to both the electricity and energy challenges,” the department said.

Some of these efforts include the publication of the Request For Information to enable the department to have a sense of immediate generation options available, to bring IPPs capacity on-stream earlier and to drive for the use of LPG gas.

Despite these immediate interventions, the department said the Integrated Resource Plan 2019 was the blueprint that sets a clear path for security of energy supply.

Eskom did not respond to questions by the time of going to press.

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