​Lerato Mailoane
Gauteng Premier David Makhura has called on Gauteng's municipalities to become key players in the energy space.
On Friday, Makhura and Mayor Mpho Moerane witnessed the signing of the power purchase agreement between the City of Johannesburg and Kelvin Power Station.
The two-year agreement is expected to increase the city's electricity supply from 80MW to 180MW.
Addressing the media, the Premier said municipalities would have to improve their technical capacity resulting in helping the country move closer to clean energy.
The province's metropolitan municipalities need to "take over" electricity from Eskom.
"The municipalities – especially the metros – taking over the supply of electricity is the right way to go. These are critical governance issues. This is an era where municipalities… build their capacities," he said.
Reliable power and supply of clean water were key in improving livelihood and building the economy. 
"Those two are fundamental basics without which you can't do anything," he said adding that a secure electricity supply is needed for the economy of the city to grow.
"Johannesburg has huge economic potential…but you can't have an economy and residents enjoying the quality of life if there is no power supply.
Makhura echoed the call for more residents to be connected to prepaid electricity.
"I know that the big worry is that the people don't pay…but they must have prepaid electricity. People must pay for electricity as per consumption. 
"We can't have something called a flat rate. People must pay as per consumption. But we must sort out the infrastructure. When the substations have blown out, we can't take two years to fix a substation," he added.