Minister of Agriculture
In relation to the Western Cape Department of Agriculture’s Energy Summit:
- What were the key challenges identified, (b) what will his Department’s role be in addressing these challenges and (c) how does his Department plan to engage with other government departments at different levels to ensure that food security in the province is not threatened?
(a) The Impact of load shedding on agriculture at stage 6 is estimated at R2.4 billion rand per year. The three major challenges that have been identified are financial, technical and legislative. More than 90% of producers (70 000) are dependent on energy generation from Eskom as their primary source of energy, while 50% of all the electricity used in agriculture is utilised for irrigation. It was furthermore confirmed that 80% of the irrigation is needed in the months of October till March, which put enormous pressure on the electricity grid. It was also acknowledged that while Municipalities are a key stakeholder in transmitting energy, they do not have the financial capability to take on this task alone, and that multiple sources of income are needed to manage and fund the solutions.
- The proposal to create a special purpose vehicle for the financing of alternative energy is encouraged, as there are many technical complexities regarding financial support. At a Local Municipal level one (1) town in each of the five (5) District municipalities is identified where a containerized system of energy generation is being explored, each feeding into each other to supply electricity. It is anticipated that tenders for service providers will go out in due course.
The Western Cape is privileged to be among the first distributors to pilot the battery energy storage facility at Breedevallei substation, where they are partnering with various partners to develop solutions tailored for the Western Cape and South Africa. It is encouraging that relations between municipalities and private entities in the Western Cape are strong which facilitates developments in this area. The Department will continue to play an enabling role between Eskom, municipalities, and the agricultural sector to explore all possible solutions to minimise the disruption to the sector.
- The Department is part of the Premier’s Energy Council which engages Departments at national, provincial, and local government levels to ensure an integrated response to the Energy crisis.
