GEORGE NEWS - Eskom's above-expectation performance had no impact on George Municipality's decision to cancel a tender for the construction of a 12MW PV plant and 66kV substation after it had received bids for the execution of the project.
Chief financial officer Riaan du Plessis said the bids that were received in response to the tender process far exceeded the available budget.
As indicated by the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), a municipality may incur expenditure only in terms of an approved budget, except where otherwise provided in the act.
"Therefore, there was no alternative but to cancel the tender, noting also that in the interim Eskom has amended their rules for how battery energy storage systems may be used in their network.
"This means that the project and how the equipment was intended to be used would no longer work from a technical perspective."
He said the municipality intends to continue exploring alternative electricity supply solutions such as small-scale embedded energy generation (SSEG) and wheeling agreements.
"The municipality will also focus on procuring electricity from independent power producers (IPPs).
"Tenders for IPPs are being drafted currently and it will be coordinated with the Western Cape Premier's office as they are already coordinating similar solutions in the Western Cape.
"IPPs will have the advantage of creating an effective competing market space for Eskom to operate in instead of the current monopoly.
"Over the longer term, this is the economic solution to the current energy crisis in South Africa and George will support the Western Cape government as it leads the changes needed for a stable electricity supply future."
The municipality has over the past few years been proactive in implementing renewable energy initiatives and reducing demand through various ongoing initiatives.
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