Eskom to roll-out ‘load limiting’ to more Gauteng areas following Fourways pilot

Eskom is aiming to expand the coverage of its so-called ‘load limiting project’ – where households equipped with smart meters continue to receive limited power supply during periods of Stage 1 to 4... 

Freight forwarders note some progress in tackling logistics crisis, but call for intensification of collaborative efforts

The CEO of the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) believes progress is being made in navigating the ‘perfect storm’ of South Africa’s current logistics crisis, which is... 

Eskom backs Necom-level consultation on use of electricity tokens to upscale virtual wheeling

Eskom Distribution MD Monde Bala has signalled the utility’s willingness to consider the integration of an Electricity Credit Token (ECT) financial instrument to accelerate the implementation of a... 

IPPO ‘engaging’ with Eskom on implications of new curtailment rules for current renewables bid window

The Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) reports that it is engaging with Eskom on its newly released curtailment addendum to the latest Generation Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA 2025) –... 

South African green hydrogen developers urged to bid for €270m in German grant funding to close project ‘bankability gap’

South African developers of mature green hydrogen or derivatives projects are potentially eligible for non-refundable grant funding being extended under Germany’s €270-million Power-to-X (PtX)... 

Eskom’s new curtailment addendum unlocks 3 470 MW of grid for wind in Western and Eastern Cape

Eskom has taken a major step in unlocking much-needed grid capacity for wind projects in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces by publishing the highly-anticipated curtailment addendum to its... 

SA’s draft plan signals renewables investments retreat as the rest of the world powers ahead

While South Africa’s latest draft electricity plan is signalling a pullback in renewables investments for the period to 2030 relative to the prevailing policy, the rest of the world is powering... 

Preferred bidder selected to build, operate Richards Bay LNG terminal

South Africa’s State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has announced that it has selected a public-private consortium as the preferred bidder to develop and operate a liquefied natural... 

Ramokgopa seeks to unlock private finance for 6 000 km of new grid in coming three years

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the current plan for rolling out grid infrastructure, particularly in the coming three years, is insufficient to end loadshedding and should, thus,... 

Big procurement year

The coming year is poised to be the most active ever for the public procurement of new electricity generation capacity. Besides shepherding the already-procured projects to financial close –... 

Transmission grid constraints cast shadow over South Africa’s seventh renewables bid window

South Africa’s grid constraints are continuing to cast a shadow over the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), the seventh bidding round for which was... 

Energy Vault enters licensing deal for gravity storage solution with SADC-focused consortium

Grid-scale energy storage solutions company Energy Vault has signed a licensing and royalty agreement with a South African consortium, established with the aim of deploying the NYSE-listed... 

Dedicated freight lanes and restricted truck operating hours mooted in draft plan to shift cargo back to rail

The Department of Transport (DoT) is canvasing as series of interventions aimed at attracting freight back to South Africa’s struggling rail system from road, which has emerged as the country’s... 

Grid constraint likely to translate to a renewables price premium, Magoro warns

Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office head Bernard Magoro has signalled that the projects bid during the current seventh renewables procurement bid window could carry a price premium, as bidders... 

Africa’s flatlining electricity trajectory requires urgent intervention – IEA

A new International Energy Agency (IEA) report on electricity highlights that per person electricity demand across Africa has been stagnant for three decades, making the continent a worrying... 

Independent transmission project office to be set up to procure new grid using build, operate, transfer model

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa reports that government plans to establish an independent transmission project office, located either at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) or... 

DBSA to support participation of black firms, communities in bid windows for renewables, batteries and gas

State-owned development financier the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is gearing up to play a role in the public procurement of 7 615 MW of new electricity generation and storage... 

Sasol, Topsoe appoint CEO to lead new sustainable aviation fuels JV

Sasol and Topsoe have appointed Shell’s Jan Toschka as CEO of their recently established sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) JV. Toschka is described as a seasoned leader in the aviation fuels... 

Marokane to officially report for duty as Eskom CEO on March 1

Eskom has announced that Dan Marokane – who was named group CEO on December 8, almost a full year after André de Ruyter formally resigned – will assume office on March 1, 2024. Previously, Eskom... 

Pioneering 195 MW solar plant to sell clean electricity to multiple customers across the country

South African independent power producer the SOLA Group has started construction on a pioneering 195 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) plant in the Free State, which will wheel and sell clean electricity... 

Red Rocket confirms initial 500 MW of interest in 2 000 MW virtual wheeling renewables scheme

Independent power producer (IPP) Red Rocket reports that it has signed up customers for 500 MW of the 2 000 MW of capacity it aims to deploy over the coming three years as part of an innovative... 

Tender out for Durban terminal berths expansion

The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has issued a tender for the reconstruction, deepening and lengthening of three berths at the Pier 2 North Quay of the currently congested Durban... 

Shrugging off sanctions risk, PetroSA aims to seal deal with GazpromBank by April to resuscitate GTL refinery

South Africa’s PetroSA aims to make a final investment decision (FID) by April on a project designed to support the resumption of production at the mothballed gas-to-liquids (GTL) refinery in... 

Sasol’s Mabelane to head board of Eskom’s unbundled grid company

The inaugural board of directors of the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA), which was announced by the Eskom board on Tuesday, will be chaired by Priscillah Mabelane, who is also... 

Gas lock-in

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” the quote, attributed to Benjamin Franklin, reads. What happens, however, when your plan is a failure? The misnamed draft Integrated Resource Plan... 

1 000 MW gas-to-power cap placed on Richards Bay for first gas procurement round

While ‘location agnostic’, South Africa’s inaugural 2 000 MW gas-to-power (GtP) procurement round is limiting the development of facilities in the City of uMhlathuze, where KwaZulu-Natal’s... 

Work under way to identify next battery sites amid bidding at eight North West substations

Independent Power Producer Office head Bernard Magoro reports that work is under way to identify substation sites for the upcoming third Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer... 

Grid constraints cast shadow over South Africa’s seventh renewables bid window

South Africa’s grid constraints are continuing to cast a shadow over the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), the seventh bidding round for which was... 

Fast-growing ENGIE South Africa will consider grid investments under right conditions

Global independent power company ENGIE, which is prioritising the South African electricity market for significant organic and acquisitive growth, is also open to participating in grid investments... 

Busy week for DMRE as it hosts IPP bidders conferences and IRP workshop

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) have a busy week ahead, with three virtual bidders conferences to be hosted over Wednesday and... 

World powers ahead with renewables as South Africa’s draft plan signals pullback

While South Africa’s latest draft electricity plan is signalling a pullback in renewables investments for the period to 2030 relative to the prevailing policy, the rest of the world is powering... 

Preferred bidder selected to build and operate Richards Bay LNG terminal

South Africa’s State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has announced that it has selected a public-private consortium as the preferred bidder to develop and operate a liquefied natural... 

No plan yet for public hearings into gas-heavy draft IRP 2023

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has belatedly released the background technical information that has been used to inform the assumptions included in the draft Integrated... 

Sasol’s Mabelane to head board at Eskom’s unbundled grid company, NTCSA

The inaugural board of directors of the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA), which was announced by the Eskom board on Tuesday, will be chaired by Priscillah Mabelane, who is also... 

Ramokgopa seeks to unlock private finance for 6 000 km of new grid in coming three years

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the current plan for rolling out grid infrastructure, particularly in the coming three years, is insufficient to end loadshedding and should, thus,... 

Busa warns that lack of detail in IRP 2023 makes it impossible to assess plan’s credibility

Business Unity South Africa (Busa) will approach the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to secure the technoeconomic information that has been used to inform the assumptions... 

Four utility-scale battery projects worth R10bn selected following inaugural public tender

The South African government has selected preferred bidders for the development of four utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in the Northern Cape, with a combined investment... 

Finding immediate steel alternatives a concern as AMSA prepares to wind down longs unit

ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has indicated that it will enter discussions with buyers of its noncommodity long-steel products in an effort to limit the disruption that is set to arise because... 

Graphics confirm how ‘devastatingly bad’ loadshedding has been in 2023

South Africans are already painfully aware that 2023 has been a devastating year for power disruptions, with the latest bout of Stage 6 loadshedding having provided yet another traumatic reminder... 

No seamless extension

The Koeberg saga, much like South Africa’s ongoing efforts to tackle loadshedding decisively, hardly ever fails to disappoint. Having missed deadline after deadline, Africa’s only nuclear power...