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Eskom implements Stage 2 load-shedding on Wednesday

By: News24Wire 11th December 2019 Electricity company Eskom said it was implementing Stage 2 load-shedding until 11 pm on Wednesday as capacity remained constrained, albeit at a lesser level than earlier in the week, adding that the probability for further rolling blackouts remained high for the rest of the week. "Load-shedding... →

Eskom: Multiple systems failures but grid remains stable and ‘won’t collapse’

By: News24Wire 11th December 2019 Eskom, the beleaguered national electricity utility, is suffering from multiple system failures at power stations around the country brought about by poor planning, old and malfunctioning infrastructure, an acute lack of skills and a loss of institutional expertise. Internal Eskom status updates... →

Blackouts weighing heavily on business cycle - SACCI

By: African News Agency 11th December 2019 South Africa's rotational blackouts are placing the country's prospects of economic recovery under severe pressure and weighing heavily on businesses, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) has said. "We have received many complaints from businesses in the retail and other... →

DMRE’s promise of urgent action on power supply fails to include timelines

By: Terence Creamer 10th December 2019 The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) announced on Tuesday that the much-anticipated request for information (RFI) for emergency supply- and demand-side solutions to close the gap left by Eskom’s underperforming coal-fired power stations, both old and new, would be published soon.... →

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Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

Ramaphosa cuts short Egypt trip over power crisis

By: Reuters 10th December 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa cut short his state visit Egypt so he could return home and meet with utility Eskom, local news agency EWN said on Tuesday, over a deepening power crisis that has seen six straight days of nationwide blackouts. Opposition political party, the Democratic Alliance, and... →

Mines halt operations countrywide as Eskom asks for 20% power savings

By: News24Wire 10th December 2019 Several mining companies in South Africa have had to temporarily shut down domestic operations after receiving requests by Eskom to reduce their load on the national power system. This comes after Eskom instituted stage 6 load-shedding for the first time on Monday evening. Stage 6 was downgraded... →

Load-shedding could slash SA's GDP growth to just 0.3% – Intellidex

By: News24Wire 10th December 2019 At the start of 2019, the World Bank and other financial institutions predicted that South Africa's economy would grow at around 1.3% in 2019. This figure has been repeatedly downgraded, with the SA Reserve Bank anticipating growth of just 0.5% - below the GDP growth South African achieved in... →

Load-shedding: Cape Town warns that water supply may be intermittent at Stage 6

By: News24Wire 10th December 2019 Capetonians who are seeing red over load-shedding should also prepare for possible interruptions to their water supply should Eskom decide to move to Stage 6, it emerged on Tuesday. Citizens around the country were caught by surprise when the power utility moved to Stage 6 on Monday evening. On... →

Industry bodies call for increased renewables to help bridge power supply constraints

By: Marleny Arnoldi 10th December 2019 The South African Wind Energy Association has called for the immediate release of available wind power into the national grid, as the country continues to face daily load-shedding. After days of implementing Stage 1 to Stage 4 power cuts, State-owned Eskom on Monday evening implemented... →

Stage 4 load-shedding to continue until 11pm on Tuesday

By: News24Wire 10th December 2019 After implementing stage 6 load-shedding for the first time on Monday, Eskom says it will continue with stage 4 load-shedding on Tuesday until 11pm. Stage 4 allows for up to 4 000MW to be cut from the national grid. →

Association calls for more small-scale embedded generation as load-shedding persists

By: Simone Liedtke 9th December 2019 The most recent bout of load-shedding in the country has provided further evidence of embattled power utility Eskom’s “increasing inability to supply the level of electricity required” by South Africa’s households and industries, the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) said... →

Load-shedding raises risk of another South African recession

By: Bloomberg 9th December 2019 South Africa’s flagging economy could face a second recession in as many years due to a new wave of nationwide power cuts. Eskom Holdings, the State-owned power utility seen by Goldman Sachs Group as the biggest threat to the country’s economy, started a fifth day of rolling blackouts on Monday... →

What now for R1.1bn settlement SAA has with Comair?

By: News24Wire 9th December 2019 Comair has said it is still too early to speculate about what will happen to outstanding payments it is owed by South African Airways as part of a R1.1-billion legal settlement. The airline, which operates its own low-cost carrier kulula.com as well as British Airways in South Africa under a... →

Transnet reiterates commitment to developing East London port

By: Simone Liedtke 9th December 2019 Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has reiterated its commitment to developing the Port of East London in a bid to support economic growth in Buffalo City. The announcement was made during an address at the recent Buffalo City Investment Conference in East London, an initiative of the... →

Mbalula dissolves PRASA interim board, places it under administration

By: News24Wire 9th December 2019 Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has dissolved the interim board of the Passenger Rail agency of South Africa and placed the struggling State-owned entity under administration with immediate effect. Bongisizwe Mpondo has been appointed as its administrator. Mbulala on Monday described Mpondo as... →

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Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula

Eskom returns to Stage 4 load-shedding

By: African News Agency 9th December 2019 Eskom will return to Stage 4 load-shedding from 10am on Monday after losing more generating capacity, the power utility said. The company has said continuous rain over parts of the country has affected its coal stocks, compounding a crisis caused by unplanned breakdowns at power plants. →

Power cuts to continue on Monday, with high risk for rest of week – Eskom

By: News24Wire 9th December 2019 Eskom announced on Sunday evening that stage 2 rotational power cuts would continue overnight and all day on Monday. The struggling power utility said it expected load-shedding to stop at 23:00 on Monday. There is a high likelihood that power rationing will be implemented for the rest of the week. →

Ramaphosa: We will take drastic steps to save State companies – just look at SAA

By: News24Wire 9th December 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa used his weekly newsletter to say that the implementation of business rescue at South African Airways is a sign that government was prepared to take "drastic steps" to save South Africa’s ailing State-owned entities. The resolve we have shown in putting SAA into... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Transnet inks rail revitalisation agreement with Ghana

By: Simone Liedtke 6th December 2019 State-owned logistics company Transnet, led by chairperson Dr Popo Molefe, this week signed a rail revitalisation agreement with the Ghana Railway Company Limited (GRCL) and the Ghana Railway Development Authority (GRDA) that will result in the restoration of the Western Railway Line in Ghana.... →

Nersa to host hearings in February into Eskom’s latest R27.3bn claw-back claim

By: Terence Creamer 6th December 2019 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) will host public hearings in February as part of its adjudication of Eskom’s latest Regulatory Clearing Account (RCA) application for the 2018/19 financial year. Eskom is looking to recoup R27.3-billion under the RCA mechanism, which is a... →

Power cuts may last the weekend if rain persists

By: Reuters 6th December 2019 Many South Africans could be without electricity this weekend if rain continues, state power utility Eskom said on Friday, after announcing it would cut up to 4 000 MW of power as wet weather makes it difficult for power stations to use coal. Coal handling problems have led to generating units... →

Transnet delivers last batch of freight wagons to Mozambican rail operator in Uitenhage

By: African News Agency 6th December 2019 Transnet Engineering on Friday delivered the last batch of 100 locally manufactured freight wagons to Caminhos De Ferros De Mocambique (CFM), a Mozambique State owned railway operator. The handover event was held in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape, the company said. →

Fake PRASA 'Dr' Daniel Mthimkhulu loses bid for leave to appeal R5.7m judgment

By: News24Wire 6th December 2019 Fake PRASA 'Dr' Daniel Mthimkhulu loses bid for leave to appeal R5.7m judgment A former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) executive, who was found to have lied about his qualifications, has lost his bid to appeal a High Court order that he should pay back R5.7-million he received from... →

Eskom to implement stage 4 load-shedding from 2pm

By: News24Wire 6th December 2019 Eskom has confirmed that it will implement stage 4 load-shedding from 14:00 on Friday, despite already using diesel-powered open cycle gas turbines and pumped storage schemes to supplement capacity. Stage 4 allows for up to 4 000 MW - just under 10% of Eskom's nominal capacity - to be cut from... →

Business rescue practitioner for SAA announced

By: Rebecca Campbell 6th December 2019 The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) has appointed a business rescue practitioner for State-owned South African Airways (SAA), the airline announced on Friday. He is Les Matuson from Matuson Associates. “The company is officially in business rescue,” stated SAA in its press... →

Air transport is a key industry, and SAA has a big impact, says industry body

By: News24Wire 6th December 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa's decision to have South African Airways placed under immediate business rescue should provide some security and clarity for South Africa's air transport, trade, logistics, travel and tourism sectors, according to the Airlines Association of Southern Africa. AASA would... →

Load-shedding to resume on Friday, continue overnight – Eskom

By: News24Wire 6th December 2019 After instituting rotational power cuts overnight, Eskom announced on Friday morning that stage 2 load-shedding would again start at 09:00 and continue until 06:00 on Saturday morning. Stage 2 load-shedding allows for up to 2 000 MW to be cut from the national grid. →

Trade union outlines business-rescue case for SAA

By: Rebecca Campbell 6th December 2019 Trade union Solidarity has served court papers on embattled State-owned airline South African Airways (SAA) and on the Ministers of Finance and Public Enterprises. The union has asked the court to put SAA into business rescue. If granted, it would mean the appointment of a business rescue... →

Stage 2 load-shedding this afternoon, says Eskom

5th December 2019 Eskom has warned of Stage 2 load-shedding this afternoon due to a "shortage of capacity". It tweeted the warning from its official account on Thursday afternoon. The power utility recently said no load-shedding was planned until March, although load-shedding could be implemented if absolutely... →

Business confidence remains rigid – Sacci

5th December 2019 The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (Sacci's) Business Confidence Index (BCI) increased by one index point to 92.7 in November. "The upward movement in November was specifically driven by the foreign trade performance as merchandise trade volumes of exports and imports were... →

Business rescue means restructuring of SAA

By: Rebecca Campbell 5th December 2019 Department of Public Enterprises deputy director-general Advocate Melanchton Makobe effectively confirmed on Thursday that State-owned South African Airways (SAA) would be restructured, as a result of going into business rescue. “That business rescue plan is, in effect, a restructuring plan for... →

SAA to enter into business rescue

By: Bloomberg 4th December 2019 South Africa’s government will place the national airline under a local form of bankruptcy protection as a last-ditch measure to try and prevent its total collapse. President Cyril Ramaphosa made the decision in order to address the dire financial situation at South African Airways (SAA),... →

Promoters of Maputo and Richards Bay LNG terminals insist projects can be complementary

By: Terence Creamer 4th December 2019 The promoters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals at Maputo, in Mozambique, and Richards Bay, in South Africa, insist that the two proposed projects can be complimentary rather than competitive as there is sufficient existing demand and growth potential in the region to support both... →

Electricity meets the Reserve Bank: The DA's answer to fix Eskom

By: News24Wire 4th December 2019 Beleaguered parastatal Eskom is wholly owned by the South African government. But when Democratic Alliance MP Natasha Mazzone briefed her peers about her private member's bill on energy on Tuesday, the power utility she envisioned bore more of a resemblance to the South African Reserve Bank than... →

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DA MP Natasha Mazzone

PRASA permanent board to be appointed soon – Mbalula

By: News24Wire 4th December 2019 The appointment of a permanent board at Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa is at an advanced stage, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has said. Mbalula said the appointment of a permanent board would go a long way in "restoring stability" at the entity. Prospective board members would undergo... →

Govt’s demand for in-situ inspections at defence equipment clients damaging local industry - union

By: Rebecca Campbell 3rd December 2019 Trade union Solidarity has appealed to the Government and to the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) to withdraw a demand that customer countries of the South African defence industry allow South African officials to visit and inspect their military installations. These... →

SAA insists it cannot submit financials, blames government

By: African News Agency 3rd December 2019 In a report to Parliament's watchdog public accounts committee, South African Airways has insisted that it cannot submit its outstanding annual financial statements until the government guarantees its going concern status through additional funding. The SAA board acknowledged in the report sent... →

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