While the country is in the midst of unplanned blackouts, the newly appointed mayor of the City of Johannesburg has announced that the municipality has signed a two-year deal with a private power plant.
The privately-owned Kelvin power station will assist in reducing the city’s reliance on the country’s state-owned provider for that oh-so-important electronic juice. According to newly-elected Johannesburg mayor Mpho Moerane, the deal with Kelvin will help significantly reduce electricity outages in the city.
Johannesburg’s unlimited power!
According to BusinessTech, “Kelvin Power Station is the only large privately owned coal-fired power plant in the country. Located near OR Tambo International Airport.”
The station was owned by the City of Johannesburg until 2001, after which it was sold to a string of private entities consecutively. Right now, it’s owned by a consortium that includes big-money names like Investec, Nedbank Capital and Aldwyn International.
This deal will help increase generation capacity to service some of the metro’s key areas, including Soweto, Orange Farm, Diesploot, Ivory Park, Finetown and Sandton.
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“The challenges of electricity supply from Eskom in these areas, especially the prolonged outages experienced by residents in recent months, make it urgent to enter into a new agreement with Kelvin. We want to move from the position where power outages are normalised in some areas, especially where the majority are living below the breadline,” the mayor said.
The deal will not only add around 100Mw of capacity to the city’s grid, but may even reduce electricity costs, according to Gauteng premier David Mabuza. This comes as the country faces Stage 2 load shedding from 21:00 on Friday (8 October) to 5:00 Saturday (9 October).