TSHWANE–The City of Tshwane, in partnership with the Tshwane Economic Development Agency (TEDA), held a successful inaugural Tshwane Energy Summit on 19 and 20 June 2024 at the SunBet Arena in Menlyn Maine.
The summit brought together more than 360 delegates and 18 exhibitors, including key decision makers, business executives, senior managers, as well as academic and research institutions, to help the City develop strategies to address the country’s energy crisis.
This landmark event was critical to fast-tracking the City’s energy plans and reducing our reliance on Eskom. The City is leading efforts to lease out the Pretoria West and Rooiwal Power Stations to the private sector and is also engaging independent power producers for expertise on generating alternative green energy.
These two processes are aiming for a combined 1 000 MW of energy from mixed independent sources by 2026. About 300 MW is expected to come from Rooiwal Power Station, 180 MW from Pretoria West Power Station and the remaining 520 MW from alternative energy sources.
While we acknowledge the good efforts by Eskom to keep the lights on, there is still no guarantee that the dark days of prolonged load-shedding will not return, and therefore we must do the necessary now for an energy-secure future for our metro.
One of the key drivers for economic growth is a reliable supply of affordable and clean energy and as a large metropolitan municipality, it is important that we put a lot of work towards generating our own energy to assist local industries, businesses and residents.
I want to thank TEDA for organising a successful Energy Summit giving space for critical engagements on this important issue. The City is truly committed to energy independence. We have a Mayoral Energy Task team that is driving our agenda of energy independence by overseeing the leasing out of our power stations to the private sector and engaging independent power producers for expertise and guidance on generating alternative green energy.