Infrastructure

With regard to electricity-generation infrastructure projects:

1. To date, no municipality in the Western Cape is generating electricity for distribution to customers.  There is some limited SSEG (small scale embedded generation) such as rooftop solar which is used for own consumption, but not for revenue generation or at ‘utility scale’.

While the City of Cape Town has some generation capability, this is principally for the regulation of the electricity supply to the City’s customers.  This includes the Athlone Gas Turbine, the Roggebaai Gas Turbine and the Steenbras Hydro Pump Storage.

2. The Department’s Energy portfolio consists of ten projects forming part of the G4J Energy Priority Focus Area. Of these, six are in the areas of new energy generation, and distribution and transmission infrastructure upgrade planning. This includes project preparation support, grid, generation and financing and building capacity to implement as it relates to the energy sector across the Western Cape.

Of these six projects, the following three are currently in the implementation phase. The first two are based within Stellenbosch Municipality and the third will potentially be available for use by any municipality.

1. Municipal IPP procurement Stellenbosch — Transaction Advisor: Multi-year contract for a Transaction Advisor to implement a pioneering project for a Municipal Independent Power Producer Procurement (MIPPP) pioneering project. The Transaction Advisor will be instrumental in the project management and achievement of a Council approved and signed PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) with one or more IPPs (independent power producers) and successful financial close of the contract for one or more electricity generation plants for Stellenbosch municipality.

Municipal IPP procurement Stellenbosch Municipality — Project Manager:  Multi-year contract for a Project Manager to provide the internal institutional and HR capacity support for the above pioneering project.

Explore gas to power: Explore the use of gas as a fuel for generation and conclude a strategy on whether or not to promote the use of this approach in the Western Cape.

Projects 4, 5 and 6 are in the final concept phase and will potentially be available for use by any municipality:

4. Project Preparation Facility: Provision of highly experienced infrastructure, financial, legal, engineering and related professionals in the energy sector and other relevant support, collectively referred to as PSPs (professional service providers), to WC municipalities to take energy projects to bankability and to implementation, thereby increasing the options to systematically move to low-carbon generation in these municipalities and enabling the municipalities to have control over part of the new energy generation.  Additionally building a central hub for knowledge management and information provision in related areas.
5. Grid, transmission and distribution infrastructure upgrade planning: Determination of infrastructure strengthening plans and associated funding plans including 3rd party funding defined and party funding agreements underway.

6. Additional capacity to support and implement: Procurement of additional human resources and capacity via contract to ensure delivery on the energy projects.

The intended outcome of the above is that Western Cape municipalities successfully implement new generation projects that will add power to the grid, thereby increasing the level of generation within the Western Cape and reducing the reliance on Eskom.

It follows from the above that the response is, nil.

It follows from the above that the response is, nil.