REGIONAL FOCUS: WESTERN CAPE BY CHARNDRÉ EMMA KIPPIE
Municipal Energy Resilience Project Empowering Municipalities BECOMING INDEPENDENT “The fact is that load shedding continues to severely impact businesses and the economy in the Western Cape. And so, we have worked hard to deliver a number of projects, including the recently launched MER [Municipal Energy Resilience] Project, to mitigate the impact of load shedding on the provincial economy,” said Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC, David Maynier in a statement regarding Stellenbosch’s plans to generate 100% of their own electricity.
Cape’s Department of Economic Development and Tourism, and backed by the Department of Local Government and Provincial Treasury.
The Municipal Energy Resilience project (MER) was developed following an amendment to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act in 2020 which allowed for municipalities to generate their own electricity. The project is led by the Energy Directorate, within the Western
Stellenbosch Executive Mayor Gesie van Deventer added, in a statement, “With blackouts and load shedding frequently sweeping across the nation due to the energy crisis in South Africa, it has become imperative for municipalities to start investigating alternate energy
“I am pleased to hear that we are able to support Stellenbosch Municipality through the MER project, and I look forward to our continued efforts to do everything we can to support other municipalities to participate in the growing green energy sector so that together we can create a more energy resilient future in the Western Cape,” continued the MEC.
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sources,” said Stellenbosch Executive Mayor Gesie van Deventer in a statement. The MER was launched as part of the effort to diversify the energy mix, reducing reliance on Eskom. The Western Cape government wants municipalities to have reliable energy which is affordable, and can grow the economy without negatively impacting the environment. OBJECTIVES The Western Cape government’s websites states: “The key objectives of the MER project are the development, support and capacity building to implement renewable energy projects in municipalities across the province for municipalities, businesses and households to generate, procure and sell [their] own power including, but not limited to, municipalities
