Newly established WC Energy & Water Council gets to work

On Friday, 6 September 2024, the first meeting of the newly established Integrated Energy and Water Council was held. The council will coordinate and support the Western Cape Government’s (WCG) strategies to achieve energy and water security in the province.

“We must do everything that we can to secure enough water and energy so that our economy can flourish and create more jobs,” said Premier Winde at the start of the council meeting. 

The scope of the Energy Council, which was set up early last year at the height of the load shedding crisis, has been expanded to achieve the objectives outlined in the Growth For Jobs strategy (G4J), Western Cape Energy Resilience and 15-year Western Cape Water Resilience programmes.

“If we are to drive economic growth and create more jobs we must secure and stabilise the Western Cape’s increasing demand for electricity and water. We may have had good rains this winter and load shedding has been suspended for now, but we are not complacent. Just as the Energy Council has been working to make the province energy resilient by enabling and empowering the private sector and municipalities to explore alternative renewable energy solutions, so too must we seek out ways to better conserve and manage our water use,” stated Premier Alan Winde, “this is why we have added water resilience to the WCG’s key priorities. The council will assist in integrating our various initiatives.”

During Friday’s meeting, WCG ministers, Heads of Departments, mayors, and municipal managers were given an update on how the newly constituted council will operate.

The council’s responsibilities have been expanded to include identifying and actioning solutions to avoid future water scarcity by:

• Addressing the causes of water losses;
• Investing in the construction and maintenance of water infrastructure;
• Seeking out opportunities for groundwater exploration; and
• Improving water quality.

With the mandate of the Council now secured, teams across the Western Cape Government will start to work on the key initiatives required to start implementing the water resilience strategy.

Increasing energy prices are totally unacceptable

The Council discussed at length the continued increases in energy prices, the impact that this is having on households’ budgets and the unacceptable proposal from Eskom to the National Energy Regulator (NERSA) to increase the sale of electricity by 43,55% to municipalities and 36,15% to its direct customers in 2025.

“This kind of price increase is intolerable. How can you even put a price increase like this on the table? As the WCG we will be expressing our complete rejection of this proposal. This kind of price increase impinges on the dignity of our residents – people are going to have to decide between buying food or power. Rather than keeping residents as part of the energy system this kind of price increase will just encourage those who can to exit the Eskom energy system, leaving those who cannot afford an alternative energy option stuck with an unreliable and unaffordable supplier,” said Premier Winde.

“I have requested that the WCG register to take part in the NERSA hearings on this proposed increase so that we can express our total rejection of these scurrilous proposals,” said Premier Winde.

“As a government, we will do everything we can to ensure that our residents have access to a reliable and affordable supply of energy. We will engage with our partners in the tertiary sector to look at what options we have to achieve this,” said Minister for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Anton Bredell.

Premier pleased with progress in municipality’s efforts to make town load shedding-free

At the meeting, an update was given on the progress some municipalities are making in their renewable energy resilience efforts. A key part of the WCG’s energy plan is to enable investment in affordable and renewable energy and move away from fossil-fuel based energy.

Among them is Hessequa Municipality which is implementing a renewable energy project that aims to permanently end load shedding for the town of Riversdale in the Southern Cape. As with many towns in the Western Cape, Riversdale is seeing rapid population growth, which leads to an increased demand for electricity. The municipality has secured the necessary legal approval to advance to the next stage of the 10MW-hours solar photovoltaic (PV) plant and battery energy storage system (BESS) project.

On 30 August 2024 the Hessequa Municipal Council officially approved the project. The next step will involve concluding a service-level agreement with the appointed bidder. It is anticipated that this will be concluded by the end of this month.

The Premier welcomed the steady progress being made by the municipality. He reiterated, “Well done to all the teams that have worked so hard to get us to this stage. This is proof that when we work together, we can make rapid progress on complex projects like these. This is such an important pilot project for us because it shows what can be done, and with the horrific Eskom price increases on the table, Hessequa may have an even greater advantage in the future of having a reliable and more affordable supply of renewable energy. I am looking forward to seeing those panels in the ground and this project starting up,” said Premier Winde.

“I want to remind all of us that while load shedding may have been suspended, it could return at any moment, and so we must remain vigilant and be prepared. We are still moving ahead with implementing the numerous initiatives of the Western Cape Energy Resilience plan. We cannot afford to be caught off guard again, because if we are going to grow this economy and secure our future we must get this right,” said Premier Winde.

Eskom system update

Eskom executives also gave a system performance update to the council. The Premier urged the power utility to scale up power plant maintenance to achieve a higher energy availability factor (EAF). “I am concerned that our fleet of power stations are ageing and being put under pressure to keep the lights on,” said Premier Winde. “I want to see significant maintenance this summer.”

Eskom officials were also requested to provide clarity on load reduction measures, which have been implemented in some parts of the Western Cape, especially in Eskom supply areas in the City of Cape Town. The council requested that load reduction schedules be better communicated to affected communities.

“I am deeply unhappy with the approach that Eskom is taking to load reduction. Residents are contacting my office complaining about significant periods without power and that this is not being clearly communicated to them. In recent meetings with Eskom my team and I have expressed our deep unhappiness with the scale of load reduction, particularly because it seems to be largely targeting poorer communities. We need clarity and a plan to end load reduction. Residents do not care if it is called load reduction or load shedding – their experience is still the same – no energy to cook, secure their properties and study and work,” concluded Premier Winde.