GEORGE NEWS - George Municipality is fast making progress towards becoming one of the first B-municipalities in South Africa to offer wheeling and electricity trading through the municipal grid.
Two very important milestones in this project have been reached: the national energy regulator (Nersa) approved the municipality's recommended wheeling tariff, and the municipality signed the first use-of-system agreement on 25 June with a participant in the pilot project.
Although this pilot project will have no immediate effect on the electricity reliability or load-shedding within George, it will help the municipality to mitigate the challenges posed by the changing energy sector.
Investors
Mayor Leon van Wyk said they believe businesses and individuals would welcome the innovative opportunities being offered in George, in opening up a new market for investors in renewable energy.
"We believe that this will also attract industries and businesses who would rather buy privately generated electricity from reliable providers," said Van Wyk.
"In George we have recognised that private sector generators of electricity would like to use our network to deliver electricity to their buyers. George can therefore still cover the cost of maintaining 24/7 operating of our network by charging the private sector generator a fee for the distribution of electricity."
Legal terms
The agreement includes the legal terms that govern the relationship between the third party energy provider and the municipality.
This pilot project, approved by Council on 28 January, will be used by the municipality to develop and explore the technical aspects, and address the currently unknown regulatory process of wheeling and electricity trading within a municipal environment.
ALSO READ: Wheeling and electricity trading on the roll
"In essence, the municipality is looking to develop a more sustainable business model, which will allow the delivery of electricity generated by a private operator at one location to a buyer or off-taker in another location via the municipal network. This forms part of a larger process where the municipality is aiming to migrate to a more sustainable financial model in the future," said Van Wyk.
During the pilot project, the municipality will investigate the technical challenges of wheeling electricity through the grid as well as the policy, legal and regulatory reform required.
ALSO READ: Plans to wheel Eskom from the grid
George Municipality published a wheeling guideline together with tariffs on 30 April, to inform the public of the current requirements of wheeling energy on the George distribution grid.
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
