Cape Town is one step closer to being power-independent, as The City of Cape Town has been awarded an opportunity to state its case as to why it will benefit from no longer relying on Eskom for its electricity.
Earlier this year the City announced plans to move towards off-grid power and become less dependent on Eskom.
“We are doing everything possible to move away from sole reliance on Eskom for our energy needs, while at the same time trying to become more resilient and sustainable through the use of cleaner energy such as renewable energy and transitional fuels such as natural gas,” said Mayoral Committee member for Energy and Climate Change, Phindile Maxiti.
The City together with mayor Dan Plato will get the chance to address Eskom and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) in court on 18 June.
Following the address, Eskom will need to consider whether profit or the needs of the people of the province are more important to them.
If approved, the City will be able to purchase up to 400MW of electricity from IPPs as surety in instances where load shedding is implemented.
All that’s left to do now is await the decision and hope that the Mother City is allowed to make a step in the right direction.
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