Photo by: Creamer Media
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) will host virtual hearings on May 19 ahead of it providing concurrence with determinations opening the way for the procurement of 3 800 MW of emergency and cross-border electricity capacity.
In February, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe granted Eskom an exemption from the Electricity Regulations on New Generation Capacity to proceed with three procurement programmes, including:
- up to 1 000 MW of cross-border capacity from a range of energy producers, including utilities or independent power producers in the Southern African region, leading to speculation that power ships may be docked in Mozambique to supply into South Africa;
- up to 2 000 MW of new generation capacity under the loadshedding reduction programme from a range of energy technologies in accordance with the short-term risk mitigation capacity allocated for the years 2025 to 2028 in the IRP 2019; and
- up to 800 MW of new generation capacity from a range of energy technologies in accordance with the ‘Emergency Generation Procurement Programme’ for the years 2029 to 2030 outlined in the IRP 2019.
On February 15, Nersa published consultation papers ahead of it providing concurrence with the determinations and set March 16 as the closing date for written comments.
In a newspaper advertisement, the regulator said it now intended to host public hearings on the matter, which would take place between 14:30 and 17:00 on May 19.