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Coal & Diesel News

Erratic weather boosts energy demand, denting climate goals – BP

By: Reuters 11th June 2019 Extreme temperatures around the globe drove a sharp acceleration in energy demand and carbon emissions last year, oil giant BP said on Tuesday, issuing a stark warning that the world risks losing the battle against climate change. And while 2018 saw another sharp pick up in renewable power such... →

Greenpeace study recommends Eskom sell its coal-fired power stations

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 11th June 2019 A study commissioned by Greenpeace Africa recommends that State-owned Eskom, as part of its reform, gradually spin out its coal-fired power generation activities to new generation companies that will operate the power plants for the remainder of their operating lives. Greenpeace had commissioned... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Terence Creamer
The Lethabo power station

Kenya coal plant's power could cost ten times more, group says

By: Bloomberg 11th June 2019 Electricity from a planned coal-fired plant in Lamu, Kenya might cost ten times as much as its developers suggest, according to an energy group that wants the project canceled. The plant, which will require an estimated $2-billion investment, is projected to be able to produce 1 050 MW of... →

Environmental organisations take Highveld pollution matter to court

By: Marleny Arnoldi 10th June 2019 Environmental justice group groundWork and community organisation Vukani Environment Justice Movement in Action have launched “landmark litigation”, demanding that government clean up the air in the Mpumalanga Highveld. GroundWork and Vukani on June 7 served papers to the High Court, asking that... →

Eskom may be ‘too big to support’, S&P warns

By: Terence Creamer 6th June 2019 S&P Global Ratings has warned that, while South Africa’s State-owned electricity utility Eskom is currently considered too big to fail, it may well also be “too big to support”, owing to the costs associated with stabilising the group’s finances. Speaking during a webcast on Thursday, sovereign... →

Ramaphosa meets State firm chiefs after resignations

By: Reuters 6th June 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa held talks on Wednesday with executives of key state companies, including power utility Eskom and South African Airways, to discuss challenges they face, his office said. The meeting follows resignations of Eskom and SAA chief executives, moves that investors said could... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

ANC says ten sectors to be prioritised under ‘re-imagined industrial strategy’

By: Terence Creamer 4th June 2019 The African National Congress (ANC) has unveiled what it describes as a “re-imagined industrial strategy” as part of a broader five-year programme of action agreed at the party’s three-day lekgotla, which concluded in Gauteng on Tuesday. In a statement released following the gathering, the ANC... →

Departures at State firms could drag out Ramaphosa's reforms

By: Reuters 4th June 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa's mission to fix two of South Africa's most troubled state companies, power firm Eskom and South African Airways, could take longer than planned after their chief executives quit within a week of each other. Investors say the CEOs' resignations could slow the... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Standard Bank shareholders vote for disclosure on lending to coal projects

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 31st May 2019 In a first for South Africa, climate-conscious shareholders of Standard Bank have compelled the bank to adopt and publicly disclose a policy on lending to coal-fired power projects and coal mining operations. Fifty-five per cent of shareholders in attendance at the bank’s annual general meeting... →

Eskom insiders provide 'very limited' choices to replace CEO

By: Bloomberg 28th May 2019 Eskom Holdings’ 96-year history is replete with former CEOs who rose from within South Africa’s debt-laden State utility to run the company. There are few obvious choices for the next CEO to come from those same ranks. Two possible candidates from Eskom’s executive team to replace Phakamani... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Eskom CFO Calib Cassim

Enviro dept invites public comment on sulphur dioxide emissions amendment

By: Marleny Arnoldi 23rd May 2019 The Environmental Affairs Minister has temporarily withdrawn a provision that would have allowed for a doubling in the amount of harmful pollutant sulphur dioxide companies may emit. This follows environmental organisation GroundWork’s litigation, instituted last month, seeking to have the... →

South Africa’s fiscal crisis, price volatility among top energy risks for this year

By: Kim Cloete 23rd May 2019 The South African National Energy Association (Sanea) has outlined its nine top energy risks for 2019, with price volatility and uncertainty, and South Africa’s fiscal crisis, among the top risks at both the country and industry level. The issue of price volatility and uncertainty was significant... →

Eskom keeps investors in the dark as debt speculation mounts

By: Bloomberg 22nd May 2019 As speculation swirls about plans to deal with Eskom Holdings’ crippling debt load, one group of stakeholders hasn’t been consulted – owners of the company’s R243-billion of bonds. South Africa’s State-owned power utility is groaning under almost R500-billion of bond and loan debt, according to... →

Mboweni bemoans 'madness' of Eskom debt

By: Bloomberg 21st May 2019 South Africa’s embattled State power utility must prioritise collecting the money it is owed by municipalities as a first step toward becoming financially sustainable, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said. Eskom Holdings has reported that municipalities owed it R17-billion in arrears for power... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni

Power Africa moves towards its goal of bringing more energy to the continent

By: Kim Cloete 16th May 2019 Power Africa, which was launched by former US President Barack Obama six years ago, is working towards its target of providing energy access to an additional 60-million new homes and businesses and adding 30 000 MW of cleaner, more efficient electricity generation capacity on the African... →

Ramaphosa says to speed up economic reforms, fix Eskom

By: Reuters 15th May 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday that he would use a new five-year term to speed up economic reforms and fix ailing state power firm Eskom, a week after his African National Congress party was re-elected with a reduced majority. Analysts have said reforms like cutting red tape and... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Swedish Foreign Minister outlines goal to be 100% reliant on renewables

By: Kim Cloete 14th May 2019 The Nordic countries have brought their renewable energy expertise to South Africa for African Utility Week and shown how serious they are about reducing carbon emissions. Sweden’s State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Niklas Johansson, on Tuesday said the European country had the most stringent... →

Finding fossil fuel investors is becoming harder, says Hadebe

By: Kim Cloete 14th May 2019 With a crackdown on carbon emissions, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find investors that support fossil fuels, says Eskom CEO Phakamani Hadebe. “The truth is, how will we fund fossil fuels if we remain on them? The trend in financial markets is that you see fewer and fewer investors... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Eskom CEO Phakamani Hadebe

Release of updated IRP imminent, says Radebe, as he allays coal producers' fears

By: Kim Cloete 14th May 2019 Energy Minister Jeff Radebe has promised that the update of the Integrated Resource Plan, which reflects the government’s policy blueprint for the power sector, will be concluded "very shortly". He told delegates attending the African Utility Week and PowerGEN Africa forum, in Cape Town, on... →

Photo by Bloomberg
Energy Minister Jeff Radebe

Release of IRP 'imminent' – Energy Minister

By: African News Agency 14th May 2019 South Africa's Integrated Resource Plan, which will set out South Africa's future energy mix, would be "concluded imminently", Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said on Tuesday. Speaking at African Utility Week taking place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Radebe said the IRP was still... →

Energy Minister Jeff Radebe

Global energy investment out of step with security of supply, climate needs

By: Terence Creamer 14th May 2019 A new report on global energy investment in 2018 points to an ongoing misalignment between approved expenditure on new fuel and power projects and meeting the twin goals security of supply and decarbonisation. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) ‘World Energy Investment 2019’ report,... →

IEA executive director Fatih Birol

Zimbabwe starts rolling power cuts, hitting mines, industry

By: Reuters 13th May 2019 Zimbabwe has started rolling power cuts lasting up to eight hours that will also hit mines, a schedule from the State power utility showed on Monday, after reduced output at both the largest hydropower plant and ageing coal-fired generators. The power cuts will add to mounting public anger... →

Bids open for Optimum, Koornfontein coal mines

By: Marleny Arnoldi 10th May 2019 The business rescue practitioners (BRPs) for the Optimum coal mine and the Koornfontein mines have put the assets back up for sale. The BRPs, along with major creditors, have set the closing date for the structured sales process at June 18. →

Eskom task team mulling new debt-relief options as it comes to terms with depth of crisis

By: Terence Creamer 10th May 2019 The Eskom Sustainability Task Team – which has already had its proposal for the unbundling of the utility into three separate units accepted by government – is now finalising an updated report for President Cyril Ramaphosa which will include a financial recovery plan for the State-owned entity.... →

Kibo presents power station DFS to Mozambique govt

By: Creamer Media Reporter 9th May 2019 Johannesburg- and London-listed Kibo Energy’s Benga power plant project, in Mozambique, is advancing “well ahead” of its development schedule, CEO Louis Coetzee said on Thursday, reporting that the definitive feasibility study for the coal-fired power station had been presented to the Energy... →

Zimbabwe warns of power cuts as dam levels fall, ageing plants stutter

By: Reuters 9th May 2019 Zimbabwe's state-owned power utility on Thursday warned it may ration electricity supplies as low water levels reduce output from its biggest hydro plant, while ageing coal-fired generators are shuttered or running at reduced capacity. Power cuts would hit the mining sector – which contributes... →

South Africa’s energy transition won’t be ‘just’ in absence of inclusive social dialogue

By: Terence Creamer 7th May 2019 South African Federation of Trade Unions general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi has called for urgent social dialogue on South Africa’s “inevitable” energy transition from coal to renewable energy, warning that the country’s current framework will fail to deliver a just outcome for workers and poor... →

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Saftu general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi

Over 400 organisations, small businesses join class action against Eskom

By: News24Wire 7th May 2019 A law firm believes that its plans to launch a class action against Eskom over load-shedding are viable, despite a previous statement from the power utility that there are limited grounds for such a case to be successful. De Beer Attorneys in April called on businesses and organisations which... →

Eskom spent R47.4bn on diesel in the past ten years

By: News24Wire 6th May 2019 Between 2009 and 2019, cash-strapped Eskom paid 48 suppliers R47.4-billion for diesel that was burnt to keep the lights on. In response to a Public Access to Information Act request, Eskom provided News24 with its diesel expenditure for the past ten years as well as the names of the suppliers it... →

ANC wants banks to be forced to fund South African coal mines

By: Bloomberg 6th May 2019 South Africa’s banks should be forced to invest in new coal mines in the country, the ruling African National Congress’s head of economic transformation said. Nedbank Group and Standard Bank Group have said “they are not going to put money in coal any more,” Enoch Godongwana said in an interview... →

NUM calls for reskilling of Eskom workers to equip them for clean-energy jobs

By: Terence Creamer 30th April 2019 The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has called for greater attention to be given to the reskilling of Eskom workers “so that they can be absorbed” into clean-energy technology work opportunities. In a statement released following a meeting of its national executive committee in Gauteng, the... →

Activists slam South Africa's decision to pump water to coal mines

By: Bloomberg 30th April 2019 South African environmental groups have challenged the government’s decision to grant permission for a water project which aims to supply developments for its future coal reserves. Authorizing a part of the Mokolo Crocodile (West) Water Augmentation Project, which would pump water to the... →

Eskom attributes load-shedding-free period to improved plant performance

By: Terence Creamer 29th April 2019 State-owned electricity utility Eskom reported on Monday that an improvement in plant performance had enabled it to avoid load-shedding for 36 consecutive days since the declaration of an extended period of rotational power cuts in March. However, COO Jan Oberholzer reiterated that the risk of... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer

Tanesco gives Kibo green light to develop MCPP

By: Marleny Arnoldi 29th April 2019 Aim- and JSE-listed Kibo Energy has received formal notice from the Tanzania Electric Supply Company to develop the Mbeya coal-to-power project for the export market. This enables the company to engage with African power pools regarding offtake agreements. →

Cosatu wants facts before talks on Eskom job cuts

By: Bloomberg 26th April 2019 South Africa’s largest labour federation is prepared to discuss reducing workers at the nation’s power utility if it’s given proof of over-staffing and that job cuts would save Eskom Holdings. Until now, proposals to turn around the debt-ridden, loss-making utility have been met with fierce... →

Vanggatfontein coal deliveries to Eskom interrupted as striking miners dismissed

By: Simone Liedtke 24th April 2019 Production at Wescoal’s Vanggatfontein mine, in Mpumalanga, will be suspended for six to eight weeks after the mining contractor dismissed its 274 employees at the mine following unlawful industrial action – that turned violent – earlier this month. The mining contractor and Wescoal have, on... →

South Africa brings forward Eskom bailout to avert default

By: Reuters 23rd April 2019 South Africa's government has had to bring forward the bailout of state power firm Eskom, after it rushed R5-billion to the struggling utility earlier this month to avert a default and said more cash could be needed soon. Eskom supplies more than 90% of electricity in Africa's most advanced... →

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