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National Treasury aware of Eskom’s PFMA concerns but denies long delays in responding

By: Terence Creamer Updated 4 hours ago The National Treasury says it is aware of Eskom’s concerns regarding the application of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) at the power utility and reports that there are ongoing engagements in an effort to address these concerns. The matter, it adds, is still being deliberated on and some... →

Labour Court postpones deadline for Denel to comply with employee contractual obligations again

By: Simone Liedtke 3rd December 2021 Defence company Denel has again failed to comply with a Labour Court order, handed down on August 4, 2020, compelling the enterprise to honour all outstanding contractual obligations with Uasa members, the trade union said. Uasa spokesperson Abigail Moyo said the trade union was “disappointed”... →

Emalahleni owes Eskom over R5 billion, urges its customers to pay or face darkness

By: News24Wire 3rd December 2021 The Emalahleni local municipality in Mpumalanga has revealed that it owes Eskom over R5-billion for unpaid electricity. It has, therefore, handed over to its lawyers the accounts of some 30 defaulting customers, in a quest to collect the revenue and pay the debt. Emalahleni's communications... →

Latest Eskom, Nersa legal wrangling

3rd December 2021 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the latest legal wrangle between Eskom and Nersa, why Eskom sought the court's intervention against Nersa, some of the highlights of the judgment and the way forward. →

Latest Eskom, Nersa legal wrangling coming to a head

More growth expected for diesel generators

By: Darren Parker 3rd December 2021 South Africa’s diesel generator market is expected to grow at a compound yearly growth rate of more than 2% from 2020 to 2025, according to a report released this year by research organisation Mordor Intelligence. Factors such as an increase in throughput of peaking plants and demand for... →

Photo by Adobe
DIESEL GENERATOR Diesel generators in South Africa are not generally used as a primary source of energy, but rather as a backup during power cuts or blackouts from the utility grid.

Judge to rule next week on latest Eskom-Nersa legal wrangle

By: Terence Creamer 1st December 2021 Judge Jody Kollapen has reserved judgment in Eskom’s application to have the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) rejection of its latest revenue application set aside as irrational and unlawful. Following a virtual hearing on December 1, Kollapen indicated that he expected to... →

Eskom CEO sees end to crisis in shift from coal

By: Reuters 1st December 2021 South African state power utility Eskom sees an opportunity to emerge from years of crisis by shifting from coal-fired power generation towards natural gas and renewables, its chief executive told Reuters. Eskom has implemented power cuts for more than a decade in Africa's most industrialised... →

South Africa won’t be ‘short-changed’ in climate finance talks, Ramaphosa insists

By: Terence Creamer 25th November 2021 President Cyril Ramaphosa says that government will not allow itself to be “short-changed” or lumped with conditions that will undermine its developmental objectives when negotiating the details of an $8.5-billion climate-finance package with developed countries over the coming months. Responding... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Gibela calling for bursary applications

By: Simone Liedtke 24th November 2021 The Gibela Rail Transport Consortium is calling for applications for 200 bursaries in engineering, manufacturing, computer science, supply chain and logistics, and various trade fields – for both universities and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions – for 2022.... →

Eskom failures leave South Africa set for years of power cuts

By: Bloomberg 24th November 2021 South Africa’s deepening energy crisis looks set to persist for at least two more years, with operational problems at the monolithic state power utility showing no signs of abating and plans to add new generation capacity ensnared in legal wrangling and red tape. The meltdown at Eskom Holdings,... →

Saldanha Bay IDZ reports positive growth

By: Simone Liedtke 23rd November 2021 Owing to delays and deferments of investments caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (SBIDZ) has adjusted its yearly targets downwards by 40% midway in the year, setting new targets of just over R1-billion in gross domestic product (GDP), R833-million in... →

Eskom’s biggest creditor sees barriers to debt-for-equity swap

By: Bloomberg 23rd November 2021 South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), the biggest investor in Eskom Holdings debt, said there were significant hurdles to a proposal that its bonds be converted to equity to help rescue the struggling power monopoly. The initiative, which has been backed by the country’s... →

Eskom's bondholders signal caution ahead of debt talks

By: Bloomberg 22nd November 2021 As Eskom Holdings prepares to talk to investors about plans to address a multibillion-dollar debt load, the performance of the company’s bonds already suggests some skepticism from bondholders. The yield premium of Eskom’s 2028 dollar bonds without a government guarantee over those with state... →

New legal showdown to focus on lawfulness of Nersa’s proposed options for determining 2022 Eskom tariff

By: Terence Creamer 22nd November 2021 As Eskom and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) head for another legal showdown, attention has turned to the legality and practicality of the regulator’s “preferred option” and timetable for ensuring that a tariff determination is made in time for implementation on April 1 next... →

Eskom not holding up RMIPPPP projects, De Ruyter insists

By: Terence Creamer 19th November 2021 Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has denied that the utility is delaying the introduction of new electricity capacity procured under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), as suggested by Minerals Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe in a recent... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter

Third-party rail access necessary structural reform to supplement Transnet capacity - Busa

By: Schalk Burger 19th November 2021 Business formation Business Unity South Africa (Busa) backs third-party rail freight access with the aim of supplementing State-owned Transnet’s capacity, as a necessary structural reform that will contribute to a strengthening of the logistics network, Busa CEO Cas Coovadia said on November 18.... →

China withdraws funding from Limpopo 3 GW SEZ power project

By: Simone Liedtke 18th November 2021 The Chinese government has confirmed that the country will no longer be funding a new 3 GW coal-fired power plant in the planned Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MM-SEZ) in South Africa’s Limpopo province. Chinese Premier Xi Jinping announced China’s end to funding of overseas coal projects... →

Eskom beefs up security after suspicious incidents at Matimba and Lethabo

By: Terence Creamer 18th November 2021 Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter reports that overt and covert security is being beefed up in and around the utility’s power stations following suspicious incidents at Matimba and Lethabo on November 17 that are suspected of not being “entirely coincidental”. In a briefing on the state of the system,... →

The Lethabo power station

TNPA goes back to basics with new operational model structure

By: Simone Liedtke 17th November 2021 To create a transformed and sustainable world-class ports system, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has launched its new operational model (OM) structure so that it may “stimulate a transformed maritime economy through adaptable infrastructure that is fit-for-purpose”. The new OM seeks to... →

The Port of Durban

Another round of load-shedding declared for this week

By: Terence Creamer 17th November 2021 Eskom has confirmed that Stage 2 load-shedding will be implemented from 14:00 on Wednesday November 17, until 5:00 on Saturday November 20. CEO Andre de Ruyter announced the latest round of load-shedding at the tail-end of a briefing initially called to warn of possible rotational power cuts,... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter

Big business says Eskom resignations would only ‘make a bad situation worse’

By: Terence Creamer 15th November 2021 Business Leadership South Africa says it disagrees with those calling for the resignation of Eskom CEO André de Ruyter and his leadership team following the most recent intense period of load-shedding. In a statement, BLSA noted that the State-owned utility had had ten CEOs in ten years, creating... →

De Ruyter sees transparency as key as Eskom walks load-shedding tightrope

By: Terence Creamer 12th November 2021 As Eskom exited one of its most intensive periods of load-shedding on Friday November 12, CEO Andre de Ruyter promised greater transparency in future on both the state and performance of the power system given the likelihood that the risk of disruption will persist for the coming three to four... →

Photo by Creamer Media Chief Photographer Donna Slater
Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter

Minerals Council welcomes focus on structural reforms in MTBPS

By: Creamer Media Reporter 11th November 2021 The country requires a continued focus on stabilising the nation’s public finances and, most importantly, the critical need to implement more aggressive structural and institutional reforms that can drive up investment and inclusive growth in the economy, the Minerals Council South Africa says.... →

AMEU responds to allegations that some municipalities ignored load-shedding instructions

11th November 2021 In this editorial, the Association of Municipal Electricity Utilities (AMEU) responds to allegations by power utility Eskom that some municipalities had ignored instructions to implement load-shedding last weekend and that that had contributed to the utility having to implement Stage 4... →

Debt servicing costs contribute huge chunk of medium-term expenditure

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th November 2021 Government’s rising debt service costs, at about R1-trillion over 2022/23 to 2024/25, is crowding out spending on service delivery functions. Debt service costs will, on average, consume 21c of every rand collected in revenue over the medium term. These costs will average R334-billion a year. →

No immediate Eskom debt solution, as Minister outlines ‘tough love’ stance on SOEs

By: Terence Creamer 11th November 2021 Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana offered no new insight in his maiden address to lawmakers into how government intended approaching the issue of Eskom’s R400-billion debt burden, which has been labelled unsustainable by the utility, and also refrained from making any new provisions for... →

Eskom seeks urgent conversion of $8.5bn political declaration into commercial agreement

By: Terence Creamer 10th November 2021 Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter reports that the State-owned utility has already taken some initial steps to ensure that the $8.5-billion political declaration signed at COP26 in early November is urgently converted into a practical commercial agreement to support its just transition programme.... →

Eskom rock statue at Megawatt park head office

Saldanha iron-ore terminal's air emissions licence renewed for five years

By: Schalk Burger 10th November 2021 The West Coast district municipality, in the Western Cape, has issued a five-year air emissions licence to the Saldanha Iron Ore Terminal. The terminal handled more than 54-million tonnes of iron-ore in the financial year ended March 31. It is Africa's largest iron-ore export terminal, with a... →

The Saldanha Bay iron-ore export terminal

TFR bemoans unprecedented levels of cable theft, vandalism

By: Simone Liedtke 10th November 2021 The theft of overhead cables and vandalism of Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR’s) property has reached unprecedented levels, the rail entity said on November 10. From January to October, TFR has lost over 1 000 km of copper cable, while an average of 600 theft and vandalism incidents a month were... →

Rail should be revisited as a means to contribute to sustainable tourism – PRASA CEO

By: Simone Liedtke 10th November 2021 Rail travel should be revisited as part of contributing to sustainable tourism, Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) CEO Zolani Matthews said this week, noting that this is especially important in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. Speaking to the Select Committee on Trade, Industry... →

Agri SA hopes MTBPS will help address structural, SOE challenges

By: Schalk Burger 10th November 2021 Agricultural industry organisation Agri SA says the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) to be delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on November 11 should address structural challenges, including sentiments around State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and if there are any unbudgeted... →

Procurement rules and liquidity constraints hold back Eskom’s maintenance roll-out

By: Terence Creamer 9th November 2021 Liquidity constraints and procurement problems continue to impede Eskom’s reliability maintenance recovery (RMR) programme, with CEO Andre de Ruyter reporting that South Africa’s public procurement rules have undercut the utility’s efforts to swiftly appoint the competent contractors needed to... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter

R130bn climate deal can be leveraged for R500bn clean energy shift, says RMB

By: Schalk Burger 9th November 2021 The R130-billion concessional climate finance green deal South Africa signed at COP26 could translate into a R500-billion boost to help South Africa’s just energy transition to decarbonise its sources of energy, says financial services firm RMB CEO James Formby. “We are yet to see the details... →

South Africa targets ‘highly concessional’ terms as it moves to negotiate $8.5bn climate deal

By: Terence Creamer 9th November 2021 If South Africa is unable to secure highly concessional terms from the international partners that have offered $8.5-billion to support the country’s energy transition and to provide social protection for workers and communities associated with the coal value chain, it will not pursue the... →

Power liens with a coal-fired power station in the background

South Africa must find alternative livelihoods in shift away from coal – Mantashe

By: Reuters 9th November 2021 South Africa's shift away from fossil fuels must generate alternative economic activities in order to avoid coal mining areas such as Mpumalanga becoming "ghost towns", Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Tuesday. "If we say we must stop fossil fuels, we must find... →

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

Load-shedding a risk to South Africa’s economic recovery

By: Simone Liedtke 9th November 2021 North West University Business School economist Professor Raymond Parsons has urged that the extent to which the current Eskom load-shedding “now poses an increasing to risk to South Africa’s economic recovery should not be underestimated”. In addition, the current bout of rolling blackouts... →

With South Africa set to breach 1 000 hours of load-shedding in 2021, concerns grow about finance for maintenance

By: Terence Creamer 8th November 2021 With South Africa now officially experiencing its worst-ever year of rotational power cuts, there is growing concern about both the level and flow of financing for maintenance, as well as the utility’s capacity to implement. Initial calculations by Jarrad Wright, formerly of the Council for... →

A graph showing the number of hours of load-shedding since South Africa from 2007

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