The eThekwini Municipality has become the first in the country to seek proposals for private power generation.

The authority that governs the City of Durban and its surroundings has published a request for information for the supply of 400 megawatts of power.

This has been done to try and ease reliance on national utility Eskom.

The state-owned enterprise remains under pressure due to ongoing power cuts that has continued for the past decade.

eThekwini’s move will also allow the Durban region, made up of nearly four million people, to get more of its energy from renewable sources as Eskom relies almost entirely on coal.

“Ethekwini is seeking a diverse mix of sustainable, dispatchable and reliable power generation technologies,” the municipality said.

The request follows the decision by the South African government last year to allow cities to buy power from providers other than Eskom. Johannesburg and Cape Town have similar plans.

Darul Ihsan Media Desk