The era of load shedding or limited electricity could soon be a thing of the past in South Africa. At the moment, South Africa’s biggest cities are preparing to generate electricity for their own power needs.
This option is backed by Energy Ministry, Gwede Mantashe who approved allowing major cities to source their energy needs. This will relieve the stress on Eskom, the state power utility that had been the cause of South Africa’s dwindling electricity supply for the past 13year, a factor blamed in the fall of South Africa’s revenue.
Leading this change, are Johannesburg and Cape Town. Between them these two cities have a total population of 10 million people. And will be depending on renewable energy sources like solar and bio gas, mainly from landfill sites.
Cape Town’s executive director for energy and climate change, Kadri Nassiep affirms that 300 megawatts electricity generation is being projected. He adds “If all clarity is obtained and plans forge ahead, we could start seeing greater diversification of our energy resources as a city in about three to five years time.”
But this positive development Cape Town and Johannesburg would further reduce Eskom’s earning and make it harder to pay off its $30 billion debt.
