In order to lessen the impact of Eskom’s cyclical power outages, City Power, Johannesburg’s electrical infrastructure company, stated on Thursday that it had finalized an arrangement to buy 92 megawatts (MW) of electricity from four independent power providers (IPPs).

According to the release, the purchase of these megawatts is a component of a larger strategy to decrease the effects of load-shedding in Johannesburg, which calls for the city to generate 500MW on its own by 2030. Johannesburg’s MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Jack Sekwaila and City Power CEO Tshilufaro Mashava made the first announcement.

The city’s electricity company did not indicate how much the new electricity will affect Johannesburg’s load-shedding or when or where it will be added to the city’s energy mix. The company claims that the four IPPs draw power from a number of sources to produce the megawatts.

These consist of photovoltaic solar generating (40.8MW), gas-to-power (31MW), and waste-to-energy (20MW). City Power will receive a 24/7 power generator from the IPP that provides gas for power generation in particular.

The announcement reads,“[The power purchase agreement is] a major step for City Power in its efforts to reduce reliance on Eskom. The power from the IPPs will be cheaper than what City Power currently procures from Eskom, and two of the IPPs are ready to connect to the grid immediately.” 

The organization has disclosed a number of further steps to lessen the effects of disruptions. These include installing solar panels on the rooftops of more than 700 locations throughout Johannesburg and constructing more than 20,000 rooftop geysers and water heaters with a concentration on low-income regions.

Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of Gauteng, stated earlier this year that the province planned to construct an 800MW solar farm near Merafong, on the West Rand. To reduce load shedding, this plant would produce electricity for adjacent municipalities.

“City Power has done a lot of work throughout the years to put the City on a path where we can build towards a diversified energy mix and make energy more accessible and affordable for our customers,” City Power adds. “The entity has been deliberate in ensuring that it moves from being an electricity company to an ENERGY company.”