Eskom’s latest bout of load-shedding hits hard amid severe Cape Town storm
10 March 2021
Eskom’s latest round of non-stop load-shedding comes amid a severe Cape Town storm and high volumes of electricity service requests due to storm damage. Load-shedding is expected to exacerbate the situation and the City of Cape Town thanks its customers for understanding. Read more below:
- The City maintains this situation is unsustainable in a climate where economic growth is now more critical than ever
- In October 2020, amendments to the electricity regulations were finally gazetted, which could pave the way for municipalities to source power independently from Independent Power Producers (IPPs). The City again calls on National Government to expedite the processes that will enable the procurement from independent producers to become a reality so that municipalities such as Cape Town can go forth and start breaking the sole reliance on Eskom for power provision.
The City’s Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato, wrote to Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe in January to request feedback on the clarity that is required for procurement from IPPs to become a reality. The City’s plans for more affordable, cleaner and reliable energy supply could come into fruition in the next three years. It includes building and procuring its own renewable generation capacity. But, we implore the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to provide clarity on the process as soon as possible so that we can move forward with the execution of our plans.
The City hopes to have a solar-powered photovoltaic (PV) plant built by the City on the ground by approximately 2022/3 if all goes according to plan, but with the current Municipal Finance Management Act and Energy Regulation Act regulations, it could take up to five years from when a Determination is provided to having the first power from an IPP in our grid. Specialist studies are under way, among others.
‘We need greater societal pressure to be placed on Eskom and the National Government to break the Eskom monopoly sooner rather than later. We simply cannot continue like this. Our households and economy being plunged into darkness again at a time where we are all trying to recover from the ongoing Covid-19 and national regulation impacts and amid this severe Cape Town storm, is absolutely unacceptable. Service requests are already very high due to storm damage, and load-shedding will make the situation worse. The City thanks its customers for their understanding,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy and Climate Change, Councillor Phindile Maxiti.
IPP clarification is awaited on the practical implementation of the new amended regulations. Including:
- The status of own generation (municipal generation) projects is unclear, with the regulations referring only to buying and procurement of electricity and not to own generation. Thus, as a City, we are still requiring the same clarity and Ministerial Determination we have been seeking as it pertains to own generation.
- 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.
The City has always maintained that local governments have the constitutional power and obligation to procure renewable energy and this is necessary to move away from the sole reliance on Eskom for energy supply. The City already has extensive energy saving campaigns (making Cape Town one of the most efficient cities in South Africa), it has extensive PV and small-scale embedded generation programmes in place, which are ready to be extended. The City also ensures it can protect its customers as far as possible during load-shedding.
Currently, the City spends about 65% of the income from electricity tariffs to buy bulk energy from Eskom. With the cost of renewable energy going down constantly as new technology is deployed, it holds such potential for big cities to procure cleaner energy for their customers at potentially lower bulk prices, while at the same time making energy more accessible.
Load-shedding this evening, 10 March 2021
The City will protect its customers from one stage of load-shedding this evening.
City customers will be on Stage 1 from 17:00 until 22:00 tonight.
From 22:00 to 06:00 (tomorrow morning, 11 March 2021), City customers will be on Stage 2.
This follows Eskom’s announcement of load-shedding resuming non-stop from this evening until 23:00 on Friday, 12 March 2021.
The City will communicate any changes as soon as possible. Customers are advised to check the load-shedding schedule on www.capetown.gov.za.
Please note: the severe Cape Town storm is causing high electricity service request volumes.
Load-shedding will exacerbate this situation and it will likely take some time to restore outages.
The City thanks customers for understanding.
- Please make sure your devices are charged and that all your power outage contingencies are in place.
- Remember, when the traffic lights are out, intersections must be treated as four-way stops. The motorist who stops first, may go first, if it is safe to do so.
- Please continue to reduce usage especially during the peak time from 17:00 and switch off all non-essential electrical appliances to avoid nuisance tripping.
- Let us know if your power remains off for longer than the load-shedding schedule.
City’s service channels (please only use one channel and don't log the same request multiple times):
Call Centre: 0860 103 089
SMS: 31220 (standard charges apply)
Email: power@capetown.gov.za
Online: www.capetown.gov.za/servicerequests
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
