Plan to revive money pit power stations in Pretoria

City of Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya delivered her first State of the City Address on Thursday, 10 April 2025, revealing the metro’s plans to revive the decommissioned Pretoria West and Rooiwal power stations.

Moya said the plan is to convert the Pretoria West power station to a waste-to-energy plant and to resuscitate the Rooiwal power station.

“A critical part of our Economic Revitalisation Strategy is unlocking the economic potential of City-owned assets that have been underused or left as white elephants to decay,” the mayor said.

“These assets have the potential to drive economic activity if leveraged effectively.”

She also listed the assets Tshwane must prioritise, which include:

• Pretoria West Power Station: conversion to a waste-to-energy facility to reduce independence on Eskom and improve energy security.
• Rooiwal Power Station: reviving the power station will provide greater energy security.
• Wonderboom National Airport: repositioning the loss-making airport as a commercial hub for logistics and revenue enhancement.
• Tshwane Events Centre: reviving it as a revenue-generating venue for national and international events.
• Fresh Produce Market: turning into a world-class market serving the agricultural economy.
• Bon Accord Quarry: having a five-year licence to produce its own asphalt will save costs when servicing Tshwane’s road infrastructure and potentially enable the metro to sell asphalt to the broader market.
• City resorts, nature reserves, and heritage sites: integrating these sites into tourist routes could boost Tshwane’s tourism sector.

“Pretoria West power station, we are in a process of working with the provincial government to convert it into a waste-to-energy facility to reduce dependence on Eskom and improve energy security,” said Moya.

“The Rooiwal power station, we have to, and we must resuscitate it.”

In January 2024, the metro reported that the Pretoria West Power Station wasn’t producing electricity, while the Rooiwal Power Station was generating 60MW — 240MW less than its maximum capacity.

They were unable to operate at full capacity for various reasons, including underinvestment in infrastructure.

The plan to convert the Pretoria West power station into a waste-to-energy plant is interesting. These power plants incinerate non-recyclable waste, often municipal solid waste, to generate heat.

The heat produced is then used to generate steam, which, in turn, drives a turbine connected to a generator to produce electricity.

The electricity produced can be fed into the grid, while the steam produced can be used for heating and other industrial processes.

The plan could provide the added benefit of reducing waste sent to landfills. However, the metro must ensure it uses advanced air pollution control systems to minimise emissions.