The Madibeng municipality received the approval of its council on Monday to explore alternative sources of energy from Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

This comes in the wake of rumours that Madibeng owes Eskom R400 million. Tshwane and Eskom are the municipality’s bulk suppliers of electricity and the municipality is a licenced electricity supplier of Hartbeespoort, Brits, Letlhabile, Oukasie and Damonsville.

The municipality said the Department of Minerals and Energy looked at various options for alleviating the current energy crisis, including the acceleration of the participation of IPPs. The municipality has received multiple enquiries from various IPPs that would like to invest in building a renewable energy plant in Brits. The investment will contribute to the economy of the municipality through the creation of employment and the development of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs).”

The municipality said the Brits Industrial Association members have been requested by their clients such as BMW, Ford and Nissan to utilise green energy in the production of their automotive products. “Eskom has indicated that load shedding will continue until 2027 and this will affect the ability of the municipality to provide and maintain a reliable supply of electricity. This compels Madibeng to source reliable, alternative resources or energy from IPPs.

The municipality said the financial implications will only be known once the proposals have been received. A request for a proposal will be advertised to invite interested IPPs to bid for the supply of renewable energy to the municipality.