Cape Town City’s Executive Mayor Alderman Dan Plato has urged the National government to move on Independent Power Producers (IPPs) urgently in order to end the current power crisis in the country. According to the EM, the Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe must immediately address the national government’s inaction on IPPs, as its inclusion into the energy mix would go a long way to addressing the pressures on the ongoing power-supply crisis facing the country.
“Load-shedding hinders the ability of the economy to grow and limits vital job creation. The Covid-19 pandemic has further hammered a struggling national economy and residents, businesses and investment are all impacted because we do not have a stable and clean energy supply,” he said. He further mentioned that it is regrettable that the country continues to endure load-shedding when a viable and sustainable solution is available.
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Amended regulations on IPPs
“There has been little forward movement to end the energy crisis the country finds itself in. It is critical that we obtain immediate clarity from the National Minister on the practical implementation of the amended regulations that were gazetted in October 2020, to pave the way for municipalities to source power independently from Independent Power Producers (IPPs),” he added.
According to Alderman Plato, Municipalities need to understand how the regulations will be implemented within the context of the current Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity, which is fully allocated up to 2024. It is not clear where the allocation for municipal procurement will come from in the IRP and whether the Determinations provided in September 2020 will be amended to include municipalities or whether a new Determination will be issued to include municipalities. “It is not clear what timelines will apply to the processing of municipal applications by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, especially the time for review of feasibility studies. This still needs to be clarified to ensure implementation without lengthy delays,” he said.
