Western Cape Government on plans to end power blackouts
24 May 2023
This week Premier Alan Winde chaired a meeting of the Western Cape Energy Council which included mayors from several municipalities that the Western Cape Government (WCG) is working with to reduce the impact of loadshedding through the installation of containerized solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and battery storage.
“Our aim with this project is to pilot how we can speedily install containerized solar PV cells with battery storage in these municipalities which would stop loadshedding in these towns. We would like to see this these projects launched as soon as possible. It is encouraging to see so many of our municipalities working with us as the Western Cape Government (WCG) and taking the initiative to address the impact of the worsening blackouts on our citizens and our economy,” said Premier Winde.
In order to be considered for this initiative, the municipalities needed to meet specific criteria. The mayors and their teams gave presentations to the Energy Council on their ability to meet these specifications. Further interrogation on municipalities’ technical capabilities will now be done before the final municipalities are publicly announced in June.