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Businesses that adopt power purchasing agreements sooner rather than later will be resilient enough to ride out the shocks that come with load shedding, and are also more likely to perform well enough to give staff bonuses and other benefits.
This is according to Energy Partners Solar's senior consultant on solar and storage Henri van Eetveldt. Energy Partners Solar is a division of Energy Partners and part of the PSG group of companies.
Energy Partners Solar released a statement advising businesses to take initiative in the power purchasing agreement after a week that saw the unprecedented implementation of stage six load shedding.
In the statement, Van Eetveldt said renewable energy solutions, supported by power purchasing agreements with capable service providers, could save businesses a considerable amount in operational costs throughout the year.
'Money in the pocket'
"This is money back in the pocket of the business, which can then be used to pay hard-working employees a little extra incentive at the end of the year," said van Eetveldt.
Van Eetveldt said a grid-tied solar photovoltaic system installed on a company's premises and operated by a service provider on a power purchasing agreement basis, could reduce spending on energy significantly.
"These types of agreements do not require any initial capital outlay on the part of the business. It offers the cost-saving benefits of renewables without the asset risks associated with actually owning the system," Van Eetveldt said.
He said businesses would increasingly need to rely on renewable energy if they hoped to remain competitive or able to afford additional benefits for their workforce.
"The cost of electricity has increased by above-inflation rates for several years now, and businesses have been forced to cut as much on their expenses as possible. Luckily, solar energy such as solar power has become readily available through power purchasing agreements, without companies needing to spend any time or capital on actually operating these systems," he added.
He said, depending on site details, the cost of electricity for reliable power from the energy centre could be between R0.65 and R1.10 per kilowatt-hour.
