Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the City of Cape Town is on track with plans to protect residents from the first four stages of loadshedding implemented by State-owned utility Eskom within three years.

The three-phase procurement plan for loadshedding protection has reached several milestones this month. The largest procurement – a 500 MW tender to buy power on the open market – is on track to open on March 29.

“I am encouraged by the progress made on Cape Town’s three-phase procurement for loadshedding protection. Ending loadshedding is vital for economic growth, investor confidence and, ultimately, to help people into work and out of poverty. We are on track to offer protection from the first four stages of Eskom’s loadshedding within the next three years,” Hill-Lewis comments.

Bidders in Phase 1 of the procurement, for 200 MW of renewable energy, will receive cost estimate letters for connecting to Cape Town’s grid this month, he indicates.

“This will help bidders formulate their tariffs for selling power to the city. This follows the completion of a comprehensive grid integration study by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on when and where these independent power producers will feed power into Cape Town’s grid. Contracts for this phase remain on track for final awarding within 2023,” Hill-Lewis outlines.

The second of the three-phase procurement for loadshedding protection is the Power Heroes programme, an initiative to pay residents incentives for voluntary energy savings, which will entail automated remote switching off of power-intensive devices at peak times.

“The contract for this programme is in the final stages of negotiations with preferred bidders and could be awarded within April if all goes to plan,” informs Hill-Lewis.

The third phase of procurement is a 500 MW dispatchable energy tender, and is on track to open on March 29.

“This tender will focus on renewable energy and all-important dispatchable technologies, such as battery storage and gas-to-power. These power sources need to generate power for a significant portion of the day to support our loadshedding protection efforts.

“Importantly, these dispatchable supply sources need not be located in a city-supply area. We are expecting enough progress on this three-phase procurement – and our other deliverables – to provide at least four stages of loadshedding protection within three years,” Hill-Lewis highlights.

He says Cape Town is also the first city in the country to offer households and businesses cash for their excess rooftop solar power. The city is set to start paying businesses cash for power before June, and residents will be able to start selling power for cash later this year.

February was noted as the best month on record for new solar photovoltaic installations in Cape Town, spurred on by new incentives.