City of Tshwane allays fears of job losses during private energy procurement process

The City of Tshwane has allayed fears that its private partnership model of power generation could lead to job losses.

Yesterday, the city announced that it had set itself a goal of procuring and generating 1 000 megawatts of electricity independent from embattled power utility Eskom over the next three years.

The city says this would be achieved through a private partnership to increase the functioning of the Rooiwal and Pretoria West Power Stations.

City of Tshwane MMC for Utilities, Themba Fosi, says no one will lose their jobs.

“Nobody will be losing their jobs. We guarantee that because the condition is that if you have to then take the responsibility of the plant, we will be checking as to which bid is best for us. At this point in time, what we are saying is that we want the public to participate on this to tell us what is it that they want. The request for information will come from whoever that has the muscle to come through, whichever deal will be best for us. We’re guaranteeing that no people should be able to lose their jobs.”

Fosi elaborates in the audio below:

Climate Action Plan

Outlining the City’s energy master plan yesterday, the Executive Mayor of Tshwane Metro Council, Cilliers Brink, said the city the has a climate action plan to allow diverse energy generation.

Eskom’s constant power cuts are worsened by ongoing vandalism of infrastructure, resulting in communities experiencing prolonged, unscheduled outages.

The City says the plan is not to take over the running of the power stations but to use the infrastructure to generate energy supply.

VIDEO | City of Tshwane’s plans of procuring and generating independent power: 

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