Eskom loadshedding has turned into a South African nightmare and as far as it becoming something of the past soon, experts do not see much light at the end of the tunnel. Drakenstein Municipality (covering Paarl, Wellington, Mbekweni, Gouda, Saron, Hermon and Simondium in the Western Cape province of South Africa) is therefore exploring a number of avenues to purchase alternative energy from suppliers.
Alderman Conrad Poole, Executive Mayor of Drakenstein Municipality, recently joined other mayors in writing to President Cyril Ramaphosa in support of a call for Cabinet to declare a State of Disaster on Eskom and the Energy Sector.
In his letter Alderman Poole stated that Eskom loadshedding and the interrupted supply of electricity in Drakenstein have a severe and negative impact on business confidence and the local economy. “It impacts negatively on municipalities’ revenue due to the fact that many businesses and residential households are moving off the grid for a more reliable power supply,” he wrote.
For the whole Drakenstein area to receive a continual supply of electricity (24/7), the area needs a total demand supply of 185 MVA, throughout the month. Alternatively, when Eskom applies loadshedding, Drakenstein will need a percentage of load, related to the specific stage called, for the total duration and not only the time slots as South Africans are familiar with according to the schedules.
Working together with the Western Cape Government, Drakenstein Municipality is investigating an affordable combination of renewable energy resources – such as solar power and wind power – and alternative options, such as using gas instead of electricity.
In his Budget Speech on 30 May 2022, Alderman Poole said: “In April this year, Council resolved that tenders will be issued to solicit proposals from Independent Power Producers to generate and supply alternative energy to Drakenstein Municipality.
“The Municipality identified five potential alternative energy projects (through wind and solar generation) which has a total of 135 MW supply which can become part of the Municipality’s alternative energy supply and decrease the disruptive impact of continued loadshedding.
“The Municipality also applied for grant funding to install solar panels on municipal buildings as an alternative energy supply,” the Executive Mayor said.
Drakenstein Municipality is one of four Western Cape municipalities that are participating in the Provincial Government’s Energy Resilience Programme. The Municipality has already identified suitable projects in the Drakenstein area which have been evaluated through the provincial project’s pre-feasibility process. A number of these projects have also been selected as pilot projects.
An item in this regard recently served before the Municipality’s Mayoral Committee. Its purpose was to inform Council about an investigation launched by the Provincial Government’s Municipal Resilience Team to perform two pioneering projects to produce electricity within Drakenstein: Pioneering Project 1 and Pioneering Project 5. Its further purpose was to obtain Council’s approval to proceed with the procurement process of alternative energy.
It was recommended that, in terms of Pioneering Project 1, Council approves the issuing of tenders to call for proposals from suppliers to build generating facilities and supply electricity to Drakenstein Municipality. It was also recommended that a further report be submitted to Council on the Pioneering Project 5 where a number of municipalities are proposed to jointly establish a process to purchase electricity from a number of Independent Power Producers.
Alderman Poole cautions, however, that the Municipality needs to work carefully with public funds. “We have taken a firm and positive step in the right direction.”
