Will the power crisis end the dream of a ‘World-Class African City’?
MMC speaks at a community meeting and says the city cannot include Eskom in any plans if it is to thrive.
MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Jack Sekwaila addressed residents on the City’s electricity crisis at a recent public meeting,
organised by Johannesburg Water at the Brixton Multi-purpose Centre.
Sekwaila said, “We have to find alternative energy means as the City of Johannesburg. If we can’t do that, it would be the end of the so-called ‘World-Class African City’”
He said social ills thrive during load-shedding as people can move around under the cover of darkness.
Sekwaila said Gauteng Premier Panyasa Lesufi told him, “We need to get off-grid from Eskom. With City Power, we must find a mechanism for providing electricity at schools, public hospitals, and clinics so these facilities are exempt from load-shedding. Very soon City Power will explore rooftop solar panels on all government and city buildings and street lights.”
He said that an investor from the United States had offered to fund the infrastructure for more than 100 megawatts of electricity, if the city could provide the land.
“We must explore all of these avenues or we won’t survive. We can’t consider Eskom as part of the solution.
“Kelvin Power Station has three to four engines that currently do not work. We are exploring options on whether we continue with diesel engines or if we should convert these diesel engines into gas. If we stay with diesel, we might face the problem that Eskom is facing with the price of diesel.”
He said it was dangerous for the government if people and businesses go off-grid completely. “If you have a house, you can provide some power for yourself with solar panels and strong batteries. But then you won’t buy power from the City or Eskom. These two entities will lose revenue. With these losses, how will they run the city?
“The city is exploring ideas on how we can provide solar panels for the community and battery storage from solar, but we will find a way to charge a fee of some kind to get revenue from them.
“If people do it for themselves, they will say this is my own solar, my own battery, why should I have to pay? So, these are some of the discussions we are having as a government.”
City Power spokesman Isaac Mangena confirmed that the entity agreed with the comments made by the MMC.
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