Joburg outlines R401m plan to manage energy crisis

The City of Johannesburg is looking for financiers to help it pay for energy from diversified sources to mitigate rolling blackouts and implement a “ripple relay system”.

Johannesburg was working to procure an additional 500MW of electricity, executive mayor Mpho Phalatse said at briefing on Thursday with MMC Michael Sun and City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava.

The metro last year issued requests for proposals for short-term power-purchase agreements, with a closing date of February 10, for City Power to secure energy from independent power producers (IPPs) for up to 36 months. It is also seeking ministerial determination to procure power on a longer-term basis from IPPs.

“City Power has created a R401m budget for a plan that could, in the short to medium term, avert up to stage 3 load-shedding,” Phalatse said. The plan includes:

• Recommissioning two existing open-cycle gas-turbine stations at a cost of R20m. The city has 1.2-million litres of diesel for these sites, which would add 74MW to the network when needed.
• R85m for ripple relay systems. City Power will be able to remotely regulate high-energy products such as geysers and swimming pool motors, which would save 80MW when needed.
• With R175m, the city “will procure and distribute smart meters and communication that will enable City Power to limit the amount of power distributed to homes. Instead of turning off the power, it will be able to supply homes with enough energy to power essential items. That will save an additional 322MW when needed.
• A R120m upgrade of the energy management system, including R28m for a communication system, that will enable City Power to better monitor, control and optimise the performance of its transmission system.

The city is considering an infrastructure fund and will approach development finance institutions, the private sector, as well as provincial and national governments for funding.

Six-month project

Rolling out the plan would take six months on receipt of the funds, Phalatse said.

Having experienced 205 days of rolling blackouts last year, she said City Power was fighting a losing battle against damage to equipment and infrastructure, vandalism and lower revenue while incurring overtime payments to staff.

“Not only does City Power lose revenue when the lights go out, the entity is also forced to spend more money as a result,” she said. “We are also losing customers and revenues due to customers going semi or completely off the grid [with] alternative sources of energy, such as rooftop solar systems.”

Between July 2021 and June 30 last year, City Power experienced losses of 386GWh, resulting in a net revenue loss of about R284m. At the same time, it incurred costs of R155m on overtime payments as a result of load-shedding and R35m in insurance. “This translates to a total loss of R474m for the period under review,” Phalatse said.

Between July 1 2021 and November 11 2022, City Power experienced 122 days of load-shedding, with 2,175 incidents of theft and vandalism, and Phalatse appealed to Gauteng police to dedicate resources to protect the city’s power network.

“Over the last year City Power has spent R200m on 390 mini-substations due to theft and vandalism, which generally happens during load-shedding. We are losing, on average, two mini-substations a day. This is not the work of amateur criminals, it is criminality committed by highly armed and resourced syndicates.”

TimesLIVE