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Eskom

Winter plan: Eskom requires efficient use of electricity

17th May 2019 With colder weather conditions expected across the country and the demand for electricity projected to increase, South Africans can make a huge difference by rallying towards the common cause of using electricity efficiently, which has the potential to reduce demand by up to 500 MW – saving the... →

Eskom unbundling will allow for efficient and effective management

By: Mamaili Mamaila 17th May 2019 The challenges facing State-owned power utility Eskom can be mitigated through proper, efficient and effective management, which is possible with the company’s unbundling, says Stellenbosch University Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES) director Professor Sampson Mamphweli. →

SAMPSON MAMPHWELI There is a greater need for a balanced energy mix between coal, gas and renewable energy

Nuclear is a solution to Eskom’s woes

By: Mamaili Mamaila 17th May 2019 The success of all the countries that have undertaken large nuclear programmes shows that nuclear energy is a credible solution to State-owned power utility Eskom’s power challenges, says retired Eskom chief nuclear officer David Nicholls. →

Retired Eskom Chief Nuclear Officer David Nicholls discusses the power utility, scan the barcode with your phones QR reader, or go to ‘Video Reports’ on www.engineeringnews.co.za/ Camerawork: Christo Greyling. Editing: Nicholas Boyd. Recorded: 24.04.2019

Plans in place to redeem utility

18th May 2018 In its presentation to Parliament last month, State-owned power utility Eskom mentioned that it would be dealing with a number of issues within the utility relating to governance, ethics and accountability as well as improving liquidity to ensure financial sustainability. Presented on April 18,... →

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REVIVING ESKOM The new board Eskom will focus on multiple aspects to bring it to financial sustainability

Ninety-five years of lighting up South Africa

18th May 2018 For the past 95 years, State-owned power utility Eskom, has been at the forefront of contributing positively towards fighting the country’s socioeconomic challenges through the Eskom Development Foundation. The foundation, a nonprofit organisation solely funded by Eskom, has launched many... →

PROVIDING POWER Eskom has been supplying South Africa with electricity for 95 years

Cranes company upgrades equipment at power stations

18th May 2018 Crane manufacturer Konecranes Southern Africa is currently working on systematically upgrading lifting equipment at State-owned power utility Eskom’s different power stations. The upgrading of the equipment includes repairing equipment that has been misused and replacing equipment that is obsolete. →

UPGRADING CRANES Konecranes is currently upgrading and replacing crane and lifting equipment at various Eskom power stations across South Africa

New research group to bridge skills gap at Eskom

18th May 2018 Applied Thermo Fluid Process Modelling Research Unit (ATProM), a new research group, is building on an existing collaboration between State-owned power utility Eskom and the University of Cape Town (UCT) to provide engineers with up-to-date research and students with real-world experience while... →

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HANDS ON Engineering students will get real world experience while helping tackle challenges Eskom faces

Rope specialist introduces drones to NDT at Eskom

By: Erin Steenhoff-Snethlage 18th May 2018 Rope access specialist Skyriders has introduced the collision-tolerant Elios drones to its nondestructive (NDT) testing offering, and has started using them at State-owned power utility Eskom. The drones are part of Skyriders’ turnkey solution offering that improves the efficiency of the NDT and... →

DRONE INSPECTIONS Skyriders has added a drone to its NDT testing offerings at Eskom facilities

Science enhancement initiative expands to EC

18th May 2018 State owned power utility Eskom has signed an agreement with the Technology Research Activity Centre South Africa (TRAC SA) to increase the coverage of the Eskom Science Enhancement Initiative support programme, TRAC 2. In partnership with the Eastern Cape Department of Education, Eskom signed... →

Millions invested in renewables, research excellence

19th May 2017 Last month, State-owned power utility Eskom says over an extended period of time, funded research work done by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Stellenbosch University has ostensibly benefited research in the renewables space. “Eskom’s unique role in driving... →

Five mobile transformers delivered to Mkondeni unit

19th May 2017 Five mobile transformers were delivered to State-owned power utility Eskom’s Mkondeni unit in KwaZulu-Natal in March. The plan to purchase the five 132/88-22/11KV mobile transformers started in 2011 and was followed by a rigorous procurement process. Industrial corporation Siemens was awarded... →

ALTERNATIVE POWER Five mobile transformers delivered to Eskom’s Mkondeni unit can be used to replace existing equipment during scheduled maintenance

Geosynthetic products supplied for substation

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 19th May 2017 Manufacturer and comprehensive supplier of geosynthetic products Fibertex South Africa is providing an ongoing supply of its geosynthetic products for use in the construction of State-owned power utility Eskom’s Pinotage substation, in the Western Cape. This new large electrical substation is... →

GEOSYNTHETIC SUPPLY Fibertex South Africa is providing an ongoing supply of a range of geosynthetic products for use in the construction of the Eskom Pinotage substation

Rope access services provided for coal-fired power station

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 19th May 2017 Industrial rope access specialist Skyriders Access Specialists is providing rope access services for State-owned power utility Eskom at its Kendal power station, located about 40 km southwest of Witbank, in Mpumalanga. Skyriders marketing manager Mike Zinn tells Engineering News that the company... →

CIRCUMVENTING BOILING POINT Skyriders conducted boiler safe access inspections for Eskom at one of its coal-fired stations

Industry leaders warn of loss in investments in renewables sector

By: Johane Turkstra 19th May 2017 Following State-owned power utility Eskom’s decision last year not to sign a number of contracts with independent power producers (IPP) and the delay in doing so since, industry leaders are warning that a loss in investments in the renewables sector could lead to a severe plateau in... →

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NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY Eskom is responsible for generating about 95% of South Africa’s electricity and the firm mainly relies on coal for its power generation

Eskom Academy trains over 500 contractors

19th May 2017 Over the last three years, State-owned power utility Eskom’s enterprise development programme, the Contractor Academy, trained 518 contractors from all nine provinces, with the youth accounting for about 60% of participants. The programme started as a pilot programme in 2008 and has since grown... →

Photo by Duane Daws
ESKOM CONTRACTOR ACADEMY The academy trained 518 contractors from all nine provinces

Expo creates new opportunities for young scientists

19th May 2017 Earlier this month, three learners departed to participate in the International Sustainable World Energy, Engineering, and Environment Project Olympiad (I-SWEEEP) in Houston, US. The three learners did exceptionally well in the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists International Finals in October last... →

Young innovative entrepreneurs offer renewable-energy solutions

By: Johane Turkstra 19th May 2017 State-owned power utility Eskom’s Development Foundation’s yearly Business Investment Competition (BIC) continues to discover businesses bringing about positive socioeconomic changes to the benefit of communities and the country. The latest such business is solar energy company Lamo Solar, which... →

LAMO SOLAR Co-owners Tshibvumo Sikhwivhilu and Elmond Khoza

Power grid might have reached secure state

By: Sascha Solomons 13th May 2016 Despite negative publicity associated with load-shedding, tariff price hikes and the loss of senior management in the past couple of years, State-owned power utility Eskom might have reached a more secure state in 2016, consulting firm Frost & Sullivan asserts. Frost and Sullivan energy and... →

Photo by Duane
ESKOM REACHES STABLE GROUND Power utility to provide oversupply of power

Energy sector headed in a positive direction

By: Sascha Solomons 13th May 2016 With State-owned power utility Eskom’s Medupi and Kusile power stations contributing about 10 GW jointly at full operation, global consulting firm KPMG believes the Department of Energy is proactively working towards reaching the National Development Plan’s (NDP) 2030 goal of having about 17 GW... →

Fifty-eight participants graduate from Eskom academy

By: Sascha Solomons 13th May 2016 In line with its commitment to develop skills and create jobs, State-owned power utility Eskom’s Contractor Academy saw 58 participants drawn from Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the North West and Gauteng graduate in March this year. The graduation ceremony celebrated the upskilling of another group of... →

Photo by Duane
BRIAN MOLEFE Through the academy, Eskom develops and supports of small and medium-sized enterprises

Medupi to comply with emissions standards

By: Sascha Solomons 13th May 2016 State-owned power utility Eskom intends to retrofit each of Medupi power stations’ six power generation units with flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) technology, which is used to reduce the sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions of a coal-fired power station but has the drawback of requiring high water... →

Photo by Duane
MEDUPI POWER STATION The FGD will allow Medupi to comply with the new plant cabon dioxide minimum emission standard

Consulting firm calls for privatisation of power utility

By: Sascha Solomons 13th May 2016 State-owned power utility Eskom needs to be operated more like a private-sector business by people who have knowledge of the energy sector, experience in bureaucratic processes, business acumen and political influence, says global growth consulting firm Frost and Sullivan. “Bringing politics... →

JOHAN MULLER Privatisation of power utility will allow Eskom to have more flexibility to focus on other arears of the power value chain

Illegal connections, cable theft pose threat to zero harm mandate

By: Sascha Solomons 13th May 2016 The increase in the number of informal settlements in the Western Cape has led to an increase in unsafe electricity connections. This plus the ability of higher income areas to pay electricians to by-pass Eskom meters, impinges on State-owned power utility Eskom’s zero harm initiative. “The... →

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ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS The unsafe electiciy connections are proving to be a costly procedure for Eskom

Power utility opts to use renewable energy source

By: Sascha Solomons 13th May 2016 Solar system specialists and engineering design company ZRW Mechanika completed the installation of a 50 kW hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant at Wilgers education and community centre near the Kusile power plant in Witbank, Mpumalanga, in January 2016. ZRW Mechanika was awarded the... →

HYBRID SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC Renewable and cost efficient energy source

Ingula set for completion next month

By: Sascha Solomons 13th May 2016 Mechanical engineering contracting company SA FIVE Engineering says State-owned power utility Eskom’s Ingula pumped-storage scheme’s commissioning is set to be completed by the end of next month. “The construction of Ingula is complete and only the commissioning needs to be done. Unit 3 and Unit... →

INGULA POWER STATION The new hydropower station nears completion

Position of strategic transmission corridors confirmed

By: Mia Breytenbach 15th May 2015 South African research institute the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in collaboration with the South African National Biodiversity Institute (Sanbi) and State-owned power utility Eskom, has confirmed the final position of the five strategic transmission corridors in the... →

FUTURE BACKBONE The transmission corridors were identified in support of Strategic Integrated Project 10 pertaining to electricity transmission and distribution

Key changes needed for efficient electricity generation

By: Mia Breytenbach 15th May 2015 State-owned power utility Eskom has to implement changes in several key areas to ensure efficient electricity generation and operational management, combined with cost improvements, says management consulting technology services and outsourcing company Accenture South Africa. Accenture South... →

REINVENTING THE MODEL Staff in capital build services should cover specialisation in industrial relations, procurement, information technology systems and finance for projects

‘Flagship’ gearbox orders to new coal-fired builds completed

By: Mia Breytenbach 15th May 2015 Gearbox designer and manufacturer Hansen Transmissions South Africa has completed the supply of 384 Hansen M4 air-cooled condenser (ACC) drives each to State-owned power utility Eskom’s coal-fired Medupi power station, in Limpopo, and the Kusile power station, in Mpumalanga, last month. While the... →

MEGA-DELIVERY The Medupi ACC drive order was the single biggest order received by the Sumitomo group worldwide, and became a material reference project

Flue ducting, distribution pylons supplied to new build

By: Mia Breytenbach 15th May 2015 Steel products and related services company Structa Group’s manufacturing, machining and refurbishment services subsidiaries Turnmill Proquip Engineering and One Steel Engineering are supplying flue-ducting material to State-owned power utility Eskom’s Kusile power station, in Mpumalanga. In... →

HOLISTIC OFFERING Structa’s subsidiaries provided significant quality, sufficient capacity and a quick production turnaround on the Kusile and Medupi flue ducting

Research centre to determine renewables impact on power system

By: Mia Breytenbach 15th May 2015 As renewable energy has become increasingly cost competitive as an alternative new-build option in South Africa in the past five years, South African research institute the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is streamlining its energy-research offerings to cater for the... →

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SYSTEM BLUEPRINT The six Council for Scientific and Industrial Research campuses will demonstrate how a primarily renewables-based energy system can be designed and operated

Rope access maintenance could reduce power station shutdown durations

By: Mia Breytenbach 15th May 2015 Rope access use can assist in speeding up maintenance and shortening the duration of shutdowns and planned outages at State-owned electricity entity Eskom’s coal-fired power stations, states industrial rope access specialist Skyriders Access Specialists marketing manager Mike Zinn. “Rope access... →

ACCESS ALTERNATIVE Inspections and maintenance at some power stations are performed using ropes, reducing the need for expensive, and time-consuming traditional access systems

Grid expansion to unlock new capacity

By: Mia Breytenbach 15th May 2015 The key to successful grid expansion and transformation is State-owned power utility Eskom’s ability to rapidly respond to the new generation footprint. Therefore, the power utility should be able to expand the transmission grid as soon as new generation access is needed, says Eskom strategic... →

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ACCELERATED IMPLEMENTATION Generation implementation can be reduced through strategic anticipation of the correct corridors to unlock generation access capacities for the grid

Power outages harming metals and engineering industry, exports

By: Dylan Slater 15th May 2015 The impact of load-shedding and other power outages on the productivity of the metals and engineering industries might soon cripple some local companies’ ability to fulfil export orders, according to employer federation the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa). →

HENK LANGENHOVEN The manufacturing and mining sectors stand to lose the most in production during an unplanned power outage

Gas turbines should power current and future WC demand

By: Dylan Slater 15th May 2015 The use of gas turbines should, ideally, be conceptualised and the related infrastructure constructed as soon as possible in the Western Cape to overcome current electricity undercapacity issues and grow future demand, says business leadership organisation Accelerate Cape Town (ACT). →

CHRIS WHELAN There is a strong push in the Western Cape to pursue gas turbines to supplement national baseload power generation

Chequered power system needs balanced maintenance, strong leadership, says consultancy

By: Mia Breytenbach 15th May 2015 Power utilities need to master the act of balancing scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, says global growth consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. Programme manager for energy and environment, Johan Muller, adds that maintenance can be managed, provided a utility’s assets are relatively predictive.... →

Photo by Braam Daniels (Lesedi Nuclear Services)s
GAME PLAN Eskom's strategic focus points could include ensuring the viability of projects before commissioning and ensuring their completion on time and within budget

Residential solar feed-in required for immediate relief

By: Dylan Slater 15th May 2015 A mass supply of electricity from rooftop-mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) solutions in residential households is the only immediate solution to supplement and bring relief to the strained national power grid, which is currently facing undercapacity issues, says management consulting firm The... →

URS REINHARD Residential rooftop solar photovoltaic solutions that feed into the national grid are the right thing to do to alleviate the power crisis

Mindset, approach changes key to ensure sustainable power sector – solutions provider

By: Mia Breytenbach 15th May 2015 While South Africa has to resolve the current power supply problems, the country needs to change its mindset and approach to the power system, as the system allows for ample opportunity to create space for additional growth, states State-owned power utility Eskom former sustainability executive... →

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INTEGRATED APPROACH The South African power sector opportunities include designing a dynamic system that can manage the incorporation of alternative energy technologies

Koeberg generators, tank replacement projects still on track

By: Mia Breytenbach 15th May 2015 Technical resources provider, Lesedi Nuclear Services, remains on track to complete its portion of the steam generator replacement (SGR) project in 2018 at State-owned power utility Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station, in the Western Cape. Lesedi Nuclear Services, part of the South African SGR... →

ON TRACK The scope of work of the South African SGR consortium at the Koeberg nuclear power station include removal and off-loading of the old steam generators

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