Cape Town is pushing forward with its ambitious plan to break free from Eskom's grip and end the city's load-shedding woes. The latest weapon in this battle is a new independent power tender, announced on Friday, aimed at securing 500MW of additional capacity.

The newly issued tender seeks two types of power: 300MW of "dispatchable or reserve power" and an optional 200MW of "self-dispatchable" capacity, according to mayoral committee for energy member councillor Beverley Van Reenen. The former would act as a backup during peak demand or Eskom outages, while the latter could be deployed more freely by the provider.

The self-dispatchable component is set to cost less than the current Eskom Megaflex Tariff. This two-pronged approach aims to secure both reliable backup and potentially cheaper on-demand power. The short-term goal of this project is to protect residents from the first four stages of load-shedding by 2026, adding 650MW of independent power into the grid.

The city's long-term vision is to secure enough independent power generation to completely eliminate its reliance on Eskom. Cape Town has been pursuing a power supply diversification strategy that includes:

• Embedded IPP renewable energy: This gives the city more flexibility and potentially lower prices than relying solely on Eskom.
• Incentivizing residents and businesses to generate their own power: Programs like "Power Heroes" encourage energy-saving measures and even allow residents to sell excess power back to the grid.
• Developing its own generation capacity: Projects like the Steenbras Hydropower scheme and solar PV installations.

The contract period is three years and the closing date for tender submissions is April 8.