Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has confirmed that it is in negotiations with Eskom’s outgoing chief executive André de Ruyter in a bid to take over the remaining 20% of Cape Town’s electricity supply and thus protect the whole city from certain stages of load shedding.
Cape Town’s electricity is currently supplied to the City by Eskom.
Eskom distributes 15% to 20% of the City’s electricity directly to consumers. The remainder is supplied to the City which distributes it through its own distribution networks.
During a recent interview on Heart FM Breakfast mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis revealed that he had been in talks with De Ruyter on the issue for about a year but feared what would happen once De Ruyter left Eskom if his replacement was not as amenable to the deal.
Hill-Lewis said the details of the talks between the City and Eskom were confidential and he had signed a non-disclosure agreement on the issue which prevented him from saying too much.
Hill-Lewis was answering a question about why the City could not protect the entire city of Cape Town from certain stages of load shedding.
On Tuesday Mayco member for energy Beverley van Reenen said that while energy supply areas were legislated nationally, engagements with Eskom were ongoing.
Van Reenen also assured citizens that plans were in place for the talks to continue even after De Ruyter’s departure.
With regard to the City’s reliance on power from the Steenbras Dam, and whether there were any plans to increase reliance on hydro-electric power for the Cape Town, Van Reenen said there were plans to increase the capacity and storage at the Steenbras Hydro Pumped Storage Scheme.
She said the City spent “a lot of budget and focus on maintenance of this plant and this is helping with the success of protecting City customers with up to two stages of load-shedding where possible.”