In an effort to reduce the number of rolling power outages in the nation, Eskom is trying to double the current cap on the amount of power it can purchase from neighboring nations and private generators, from 1,000MW to 4,000MW. This information was provided by Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
Ramokgopa stated at a Monday (25 March) media briefing, “There are an extraordinary amount of players who are coming on stream and saying that we can contribute to the resolution of this [electricity crisis].”
Eskom has been putting different plans into practice to get more electricity, and one of those plans is the Standard Offer Program, which was first revealed in 2022.
Under this arrangement, surplus electricity is purchased at a set price from large industrial firms, neighboring nations, and current Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
“It also covers the variable cost of local generation and enables a predictable tariff, which is adjusted annually based on the regulatory-approved cost recovery mechanism,” according to Eskom.
“Essentially, it is [Eskom] going out to the market, both domestically and internationally, to say those who have got excess generating capacity, please make it available to us [at a predetermined tariff],” Ramokgopa explained, elaborating on the scheme.
There has been a 1,000MW cap on this procurement endeavor since Eskom launched it, and it was intended to last for three years (though the minister frequently mentions two).
This was then “oversubscribed” to 1,130 MW, according to Ramokgopa.
Therefore, a request to lift the two-year deadline and raise the maximum to 4000MW has been brought before the Eskom board for approval.
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