The Western Cape government’s efforts to enhance energy security through collaboration with independent power producers are starting to show significant results, says Premier Alan Winde.
He was speaking at the opening of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament on July 31.
According to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, 39% of the total investment value of new generation projects (over R7 billion) registered between January and March 2024 is concentrated in the Western Cape, Winde said.
“This achievement has led to an installed capacity of 213 MW. Of the 105 new generation facilities registered, 21% are located in our province.”
He also noted that the Western Cape Energy Resilience Programme has initiated the development of 2 000 MW of new energy with 743 MW of capacity added to the province’s power system in the 2023/24 period.
The province is on track to make at least one small town loadshedding-free, starting with Riversdale. “We aim to demonstrate that energy security can be achieved, even in small towns with limited budgets, outside the major metros,” he said.
Winde also reported on the impact of the province’s Alternative Energy Support Programme, which supports small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) with solar backup systems. To date, the programme has installed 12 solar backup systems at municipal SMME trading hubs across seven municipalities.
