Tshwane takes steps to procure from independent power producers

The City of Tshwane says it has received positive feedback from 39 companies after its request for information (RFI) notice was sent out to potential independent power producers (IPPs) who have an interest in alternative energy generation. 

Mayor Cilliers Brink said on Wednesday that the RFI notice was sent out in December and closed on February 20. He said the city received submissions from credible players in the renewable energy space. 

Cilliers said the RFI was a critical information-sharing process and one of the key steps that would enable the city to develop and issue a detailed and evidenced-based request for proposal (RFP). 

“Following the 39 submissions, the office of the city manager will now move to appoint a committee to go through the contents.

“This step will determine how the city structures its next step of issuing an RFP for an energy supply mix that includes renewable energy and powering up the Pretoria West and Rooiwal power stations by leasing them to market,” Cilliers said. 

In January, the Tshwane council approved a report which gave the green light for the city to proceed with the 40-year lease of the two power stations.

The city owns the two stations which were historically used for generation of power for the city’s electrical needs before Eskom took over the function. This led to the stations producing little or minimum energy just to keep the stations functional.

Pretoria West, which has a capacity to generate 180MW, is currently not producing any electricity while Rooiwal (300MW) is producing at least 60MW.

The persistent load-shedding has led Tshwane to get these stations back to service. 

Cilliers said the city was making significant progress in its efforts to reduce the burden of load-shedding.

“Overall, the city aims to secure at least 1,000MW of energy over the next three years from a mix of the power stations and alternative energy sources provided by IPPs.” 

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