Note to editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Willie Theunissen.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) caucus in Dihlabeng Local Municipality, conducted an oversight visit at the Sol Plaatje Hydro plant in Bethlehem.
If electricity was still fed to the Panorama substation by the hydro plant, it would still have been affected by loadshedding, but due to the relationship between Eskom and REH Operations and Maintenance, Eskom would have likely exempted Saulspoort from loadshedding, and the community of Dihlabeng may have never experienced the current water crisis.
Sol Plaatje Hydro agreed with Dihlabeng municipality in 2009 to provide electricity to the Panorama Substation, but from the start there were problems. The municipality could not always make payments for electricity supplied but managed to settle the arrears account when receiving the annual equitable share from the treasury.
In 2019, it came to a point where the municipality owed millions. As per contract conditions stated in the generation license, the IPP gave 8 months’ notice and terminated the contract with Dihlabeng. Disturbingly, Bethlehem Hydro requested to “trade” through the municipal grid via the Panorama substation, which would have resulted in electricity to all areas supported by the Panorama substation, which includes Saulspoort, but the municipality declined this request. Bethlehem Hydro spent R19 million on building an alternative substation to connect to the Eskom grid.
Currently, Sol Plaatje Hydro is providing electricity to Nelson Mandela Bay through what is known as a ‘wheeling agreement.”
What was striking was the standard of maintenance and cleanliness, achieving an average plant availability of 99.5% throughout the year. The knowledge shared and the transparent way it was done by Henk Hattingh is in complete contrast to what we experienced in Dihlabeng. They are bound by the International Finance Compliance (IFC) standards as shareholding is from 7 different European countries, investing in infrastructure development in developing countries across the African continent. It receives roughly 5 audits per year, audits including NERSA, DWS, Environmental Affairs, Safety, and external audits requested by shareholders.
Sol Plaatje Hydro Power Plant is owned by an international IPP, Serengeti Energy, which contracted REH Operations and Maintenance to manage operations at the plant. The property where the plant is located is private property, and in no way do they rent or lease it from the municipality. This is a private company completely independent from Dihlabeng municipality.
When comparing the amount of electricity produced by Bethlehem Hydro, Sol Plaatje, and Merino compared to a conventional coal power station, a coal-fired station would have produced 37 000 tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Hydro is green energy at its best!
Once the DA wins the municipality, we will coordinate with the private sector, such as Serengeti Energy, to go the clean energy route and provide sustainable electricity to the community.
Unfortunately, due to the bad experience at the hands of the municipality, Sol Plaatje Hydro will not consider working with the municipality again. When the dynamics change and the ANC are removed and the DA runs Dihlabeng, we will make all attempts to get them to reconsider.
The private sector is the answer to the energy crisis, and the municipality had it in their grasp, but due to the inability, negligence, and looting of the ANC, the community of Dihlabeng is the one suffering.
Your vote can make this happen.