Cape Town council briefed on plan to shield residents from loadshedding

The third element, to be launched in February, involves a “dispatchable energy tender anticipated to yield about 500MW”.

“This tender will not only focus on renewable energy ... but will include all-important dispatchable technologies, such as battery storage and gas to power. These power sources need to generate power for a significant portion of the day to support our loadshedding protection efforts.

“Importantly, these dispatchable supply sources need not be located in a city-supply area. We are expecting enough progress on this three-phase procurement — and our other deliverables — to provide at least four stages of loadshedding protection within three years.”

He said procuring 500MW would contribute significantly towards reducing loadshedding over time, given that a single loadshedding stage required the city to shut down around 60MW.

The annual adjustment budget was also on the council agenda, including R117m for fuel — driven by rising diesel costs and the need to run generators to keep basic services infrastructure going.

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