‘Private-public partnerships can solve energy crisis’

Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Mpho Phalatse says her administration is on a path to pave an energy independent City which is less reliant on Eskom.

The mayor was speaking at the first ever Joburg Energy Indaba earlier this week. The Energy Indaba was aimed at finding solutions to the power crisis and reducing reliance to Eskom.

A proposed solution to the current power crisis for the City is the roping in of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) which according to the mayor will ensure energy security while positively responding to climate change.

“For the City to be able to meet its energy requirements in the shortest possible time, very close collaboration is necessary with the private sector for the requisite investments to materialise,” said Phalatse. “The City recognises that we don’t have the funding to keep up with the required investment in power infrastructure, hence private-public partnerships are seen as the most feasible way forward.”

The Joburg Energy Indaba came at a time when Eskom was implementing load shedding. This once again brought to question the power utility’s ability to provide sufficient, reliable and consistence power for the whole country.

Phalatse said power disruptions and load shedding are detrimental to the City’s priorities of bringing services to the people and make it inclusive. She made an example of residents of informal settlements who continue to use energy sources which are harmful to them and the environment because the City can’t provide them with reliable power supply when it’s still dependent on Eskom.

“We are aware that not all power disruptions are caused by load shedding, because some are caused by the deliberate and criminal damage to infrastructure. Cable theft is particularly problematic and needs to be tackled head on,” added Mayor Phalatse.

While the Joburg Energy Indaba deliberated on ways to make the City energy independent and less reliant on Eskom, the issue of converting Soweto to City Power still remains a hot potato. When she assumed office last year, Mayor Phalatse said her administration was open to the idea of City Power takeover. She however emphasised that Eskom must first fix the infrastructure and sort out the issue of historical debt and the culture of non-payment.