Pretoria – City residents are being encouraged to produce their own energy by means of solar power – and to sell their excess electricity to the municipality.
This will be in line with a new initiative called the Embedded Power Generation to be tabled on Monday by mayor Solly Msimanga at a special mayoral committee sitting.
“Embedded Power Generation is essentially allowing small power generation by residents or small businesses for their own use, with the additional opportunity of allowing them to sell their excess power back to the city."
“At the same time, they must be able to purchase power from the city when their own generation runs low,” Msimanga said.
He told a media briefing on Thursday that residents would be encouraged to generate their own energy from their rooftops during the day. “At night, when the residents cannot generate solar power, they can purchase from the city,” he said.
The initiative would promote small scale solar power generation by residents.
“It would give them an opportunity to sell their excess power back to the city."
He said the initiative would be a major step in the city’s renewable power policy.
It would also be the first step in a real green power development.
Msimanga said the solar energy initiative would be among he best in the country and would also heighten environmental awareness.
“With the Embedded Power Generation, we will make sure our city leads by example by producing energy efficiency plans for households, official buildings and public spaces,” he said.
MMC for Infrastructure Darryn Moss said: “The spare electricity generated can be used to make up during instances when we have a shortfall."
“This innovation mitigates both the economic impact and inconvenience of load-shedding, and saves on the cost of buying electricity at peak rates.”
Meanwhile, MMC for roads and transport Sheila-Lynn Senkubuge said the city would officially launch a new cashless system called the Connector for the Tshwane Bus Service.
The system upgrade would see fare collection mechanisms being transformed from paper tickets and coupons to a cashless system.
“The Connector, also used by the A Re Yeng bus rapid transit, provides for an integrated travel card that can be used on both systems. "This system takes away the risk of cash handling for passengers and bus drivers,” Senkubuge said.
She said the current fare payment method of coupons and paper tickets would be phased out on city buses from May 17.
Customers have two months to migrate to the Connector.