SA MINISTER ANNOUNCED iREREP PLANS FOLLOWING ELECTRICITY CRISIS

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Patricia de Lille, on Wednesday, announced her department’s intention to publish the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the commencement of the Integrated Renewable Energy and Resource Efficiency Programme (iREREP). This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Monday evening on actions to address the electricity crisis.

“I am delighted to announce the release of the RFP in the next week for the procurement of the Programme, which will be the largest programme for the procurement of renewable energy and resource efficiency for public facilities,” De Lille said in a statement.

The Minister said the department is supported by the National Treasury’s Government Technical Advisory Centre’s (GTAC) transactional advisor in its intention to publish the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the commencement of the iREREP.

On Monday, President Ramaphosa announced that Eskom will on an urgent basis, in the next three months accelerate efforts to add new generation capacity to its faltering grid.

The intervention is among a raft of energy security plans for the country announced by the President during an address to the nation. The interventions come as the country has in the past three weeks experienced hours-long intermittent electricity outages. As part of measures to address the issue, the President said surplus capacity will be bought from existing independent power producers. These are power plants which built more capacity than was required and can now supply this excess power to Eskom.

As part of addressing the shortage of megawatts, Eskom will purchase additional energy from existing private generators such as mines, paper mills, shopping centres and other private entities that have surplus power.

De Lille said the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure as the largest landlord and facilities manager in the country, has a responsibility to not only deliver and manage quality infrastructure but to combat climate change and enhance sustainable development through its mandate such as providing buildings for government service delivery.

“We have a duty to implement programmes to reduce electricity demand and encourage energy-efficient use by consumers as articulated by President Ramaphosa on Monday.

“Considering the challenges to our economy, the persistent energy crisis, water shortages and effects of climate change, our aim must be to ensure that our investment achieves economic growth and transformation to improve the lives of citizens and fast-track development.

“Before the RFP, the department undertook and issued a Request for Information (RFI) on the 20 September 2021 with the submission date for responses on the 20th of October 2021 which subsequently informed the drafting of the RFP,” De Lille said.

The RFI allowed the department to gain additional market insights that will drive the implementation of the programme, as well as provide an understanding of the appetite and readiness of the market to participate in the programme.

According to De Lille, 58 submissions were received through the RFI process of which 19% were international respondents and 81% were local respondents.

“Accordingly, this has enhanced our understanding as well as assisted us to embed a better regulatory and eligibility criterion. In recognising that this is the first of its kind, we have taken time to collate and prepare the necessary information to address the critical areas and questions raised through the RFI,” she said.

The RFP will be open to the public with the information requested from the respondents focussing on four key areas, namely: legal, technical, finance and economic development.

To facilitate the preparation and submission of the responses, the department through GTAC will be releasing the RFP, in the coming week, on the following websites: www.etenders.gov.za and the www.irerep.co.za website.

Interested parties may download the RFP (and related documents) and obtain information about the programme.

The Minister is encouraging all private sector participants across renewable energy, energy and water efficiency, alternative waste management sectors and through their various roles including prospective bidders, prospective sponsors, lenders, local manufacturers, prospective suppliers, prospective advisors and other interested parties to participate in the RFP as part of partnerships between government and the private sector.

“We want to champion innovation and be an anchor for new smart technologies, expanding our mix and solutions beyond the proven technologies.

“We have therefore developed a section on the website where bidders will be able to upload their project videos and images to showcase their technologies,” she said.