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The Western Cape may soon become South Africa’s first power independent province with nearly all of the 30 municipalities ready to provide their residents with electricity of their own.
Twenty-three out of the Cape’s 30 municipalities are ready to procure their electricity from Independent Power Producers or IPPs. Once the provinces receive concrete deadlines for implementation from the national government they will be ready to hit the ground running.
With the Western Cape being the most prepared for power-independence, the province could become the first in the country to provide power for their residents without having to deal with load shedding.
During the Budget Speech, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said that providing a stable electricity supply was one of the most important things on the agenda for government in the coming months, with the purchase of electricity from IPPs soon becoming a reality.
Cape Town and the rest of the province will soon be able to pursue a brighter energy future with new spending budgets to be announced and a transition needing to take place this year.
At least 19 of the Western Cape’s municipalities already have regulator-approved tariffs, when the municipalities receive their rights to procure energy they will also be able to reduce long-term costs of electricity as they see fit.
Dark and dreary times brought on by Eskom could be a thing of the past as the Western Cape leads the way in power independence.
Picture: Unsplash
