Virtual wheeling: A boon for energy-strapped SA, but Salga wary of it slashing municipal revenue - News24
Virtual wheeling: A boon for energy-strapped SA, but Salga wary of it slashing municipal revenue | News24
Load shedding has led to the rapid adoption of renewable and clean energy, such as solar, by households and businesses seeking to mitigate the impact of blackouts. This leads to fewer electricity purchases from Eskom and municipalities, and contributes to their declining revenues.
SA Local Government Association (Salga) CEO Sithole Mbanga says funding models for municipalities must be reevaluated as the revenue that municipalities can raise from the sale of electricity continues to trend downward.
Mbanga was speaking at a knowledge session on virtual wheeling, hosted by Vodacom on 6 October.
He highlighted the potential impact that virtual wheeling– a system of electricity supply where a buyer or offtaker of electricity contracts with or buys power from more than one independent power producer – could have on municipal revenues.
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