Vodacom's virtual wheeling project ups its renewable energy push

Vodacom South Africa estimates that it will move at least 30% of its power demands onto renewable energy sources. The announcement this week follows the mobile telecommunications company’s announcement in August that it had reached a virtual wheeling agreement with Eskom. Virtual wheeling in the renewable energy spaceMonde Bala, Eskom’s Distribution Group Executive said virtual wheeling allows industrial and commercial customers connected to either Eskom or municipal networks to buy electricity directly from IPPs. “Virtual wheeling does not require changes to existing Electricity Supply Agreements (ESAs) and is not limited by municipalities that do not have wheeling frameworks. Virtual wheeling by Eskom 101NBI CEO, Shameela Soobramoney, said virtual wheeling effectively enables the transmission of renewable energy across different parts of the grid in a practical and accessible way.