If you missed State of the Province addresses by both Premier of Gauteng (Panyaza Lesufi) & Western Cape (Alan Winde). Here is a summary of points from each speech, with a focus on energy initiatives.
Western Cape’s Alan Winde:
#During the recent Eskom-outage in the Karoo the Province provided over 5, 000 food parcels to indigent households who lost perishable food.
And even though the power is back, a further 3, 000 food parcels to learners from indigent households.
#The Western Cape is estimated to have lost between R48.6 billion and R61.2 billion in real GDP since load shedding began.
In 2022, the real GDP lost to the Western Cape was estimated at R8.2 billion. The estimated cost of load shedding on the Western Cape’s economy, in stage 4, amounts to R43 million per day, and at higher stages, even more!
#Just under R7 billion in total is being spent over the next 3 years to make the Western Cape energy resilient. This amount is made up of just over R1 billion from the province, R3.9 billion from the City of Cape Town and R1.9 billion being spent by other municipalities across the province to enable the private sector and households to find solutions.
#Solar and wind energy surge led by private households and businesses.
#Projects: Three 75MW solar farms will be based in the Touws River area; Atlantis Foundries and their Energy Partner are working together on an extensive embedded solar initiative.
Prescient Investment Management and H1 Holdings are investing in a solar project that will be radiating power into our system next year. This could power up to 100 000 homes.
#Thousands of households have invested in solar and battery solutions – the latest estimates are that at least 6 GWs have been added.
Cape Town has already announced that they will pay cash for excess energy and municipalities are busy trying to do the same.
#The Province is building an energy ecosystem to bring more private sector role players into the fold to help us overcome the power crisis. Phelan Energy is one such company that is tapping into the green hydrogen (GH2) sector.
#Work underway to ensure that hospitals and clinics can operate during load shedding. 193 of our health facilities have generator capacity to continue essential services during load shedding, 9 of our clinics have completed inverter installations, and 10 of our hospitals have been exempted from up to Stage 6 load shedding.
#Numerous municipalities’ efforts to ameliorate mass power outages are also well under way. Twenty-five municipalities have seen a remarkable surge in embedded generation installations.
Hessequa Municipality, with the support of the WCG, is implementing a R210 million renewable energy project over the next three years which will eventually make the town of Riversdale load shedding-free, – the first town in the province to beat rolling power cuts – improving the quality of life for more than 22 000 residents.
The City of Cape Town, George, Mossel Bay and Saldanha Bay are also investing vast sums of money in our collective fight to achieve energy resilience. The Paarl municipality is investing heavily in ensuring that all its traffic lights work during load shedding.
#The 15-year Integrated Drought and Water Response Plan is another way in which we are planning better for the needs of today and the future.
For the full speech: https://www.westerncape.gov.za/news/media-summary-2024-state-province-address.
Gauteng’s Panyaza Lesufi :
#Thepromulgation of the Vaal Special Economic Zone, will build on the competitive strength of the region and support efforts to transition onto a lowcarbon sustainable path. Investments of over R8 billion in the green economy, agroprocessing, and manufacturing sectors are expected to break ground in the 2024/25 financial year.
#After extensive consultation with the energy sector, an energy crisis response plan in collaboration with the national energy committee, local government, and energy experts was developed. This was followed by the announcement of R1.2bn in funding released by the Province.
#A five-point strategy was adopted to respond to this crisis: eliminating all illegal powerconnections, installing smart meters in every home and business, improving revenue collection, cleaning the indigent register, and replacing all damaged transformers.
#As part of the Provincial energy plan, 100 megawatts of electricity, will be added to the grid to mitigate the impact of loadshedding. This is an initiative of the GPG implemented by City Power.
This figure will increase to 300 megawatts in the new financial year. This investment
combined with smart metres can generate the megawatts needed to cushion
residents against two stages of load shedding, a critical step toward energy stability.
#Solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage systems are being integrated
into 21 government healthcare facilities. This past Friday, the first of such
facilities was unveiled at the Diepkloof clinic in Soweto. We are removing health facilities and schools from being impacted by loadshedding.
#A long-term plan with Sibanye-Stillwater
was approved, implementation includes land leases of the appointed 6 independent power producers who will develop a photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar farm cluster, in Merafong Local Municipality. This is designed to harvest at least 800 megawatts of solar power and supply it to the electricity grid, which will be a game changer for our province.
#As part of the MOU with City Power, the Province is rolling out a pilot Microgrid in the community of Alexandra Township which will provide a stand alone solution to meet basic power needs for low-income households within townships and informal
settlements.
# Expansion into at least 13 more communities across the province in Emfuleni (Cape Gate, Sebokeng Unit 20 Tshepiso Ext 3 and Ramaphosa), Mogale (Portion 80, Nooitgedacht, Soul City and Portion 11 Honningklip 178 IQ), Merafong (Wedela, Kokosi Ext 99 and Khutsong South Transit Area), Midvaal (Mamelo) and Rand West.
#Having identified the hardship of many of our communities languishing in the dark,
some for up to 3 years due to illegal connections, cable theft, vandalism, and chronic non-payment, an intervention to address the situation.
# Through the Energy Crisis Response Plan, partnership with Eskom and City Power to deliver 429 transformers. To date, 333 have already been installed and switched on, benefitting no less than 32,000 township households.
We have impacted the communities of Kagiso, Boiphelong, Doornkop, Orange Farm and others. We will intensify this programme until every township and household has been legally switched on, especially Evaton, Ivory Park, Winterveld and many other communities.
Link to the full speech: https://www.gpl.gov.za/gpsopa2024/.