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Delaying emissions reduction will cost more down the line, climate commission director warns

By: Terence Creamer 5th August 2021 Presidential Climate Commission executive director Dr Crispian Olver says delaying South Africa’s transition away from coal will only add to the final adjustment costs and will also place the domestic business sector at a competitive disadvantage as other countries implement measures to restrict... →

From a coal-to-gas conversion to a microgrid factory, Eskom builds Komati’s just energy transaction case

By: Terence Creamer 3rd August 2021 State-owned electricity utility Eskom is hoping to transform the workshops at the Komati power station – identified as the flagship site for the piloting of a broader ‘just energy transition’ programme that couples decarbonisation with social upliftment – into a factory capable of manufacturing... →

A file photo of the Komati power station, which has generated electricity since 1961

Ongoing decline in Eskom’s coal performance drove another ‘intensive’ period of load-shedding in first half of 2021

By: Terence Creamer 2nd August 2021 A continuing decline in the performance of the Eskom coal fleet drove yet another “intensive” period of load-shedding in South Africa during the first six months of 2021, when rotational power cuts were implemented for 650 hours, or 15% of the time. A new Council for Scientific and Industrial... →

Eskom substation

Transnet to lift force majeure at ports from August 2

By: Simone Liedtke 30th July 2021 State-owned Transnet will, with effect from August 2, lift the force majeure which was declared by Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) over the container terminals in the Ports of Cape Town, Durban, Ngqura and Port Elizabeth. Transnet believes it is now in a position to service its customers and meet... →

Ramaphosa sees big green economy opportunity in ‘bold’ climate commitment

By: Terence Creamer 30th July 2021 President Cyril Ramaphosa says it is time for South Africa to “grasp the nettle” and embark on a “transformative path” towards a climate-resilient society both to fulfil its moral obligations in the face of an intensifying crisis, but also to seize the economic and job opportunities that are... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

GEPF, Menlyn Maine merger gets Tribunal go-ahead

By: Marleny Arnoldi 29th July 2021 The Competition Tribunal has approved the proposed merger between the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and Menlyn Maine Investment Holdings (MMIH). The transaction will see the GEPF gaining sole control over MMIH’s undivided share of Redevelopment Erf 3 and its share of the rental... →

Transnet expects to lift force majeure at port terminals ‘soon’

By: Creamer Media Reporter 27th July 2021 State-owned freight logistics group Transnet, whose operations have been seriously disrupted by recent unrest and a major cyberattack, confirmed on Tuesday that Transnet Port Terminals had communicated a force-majeure declaration with customers on Monday July 26, covering the period from July 22... →

Photo by Creamer Media
The Durban Container Terminal

Transnet declares force majeure at its container terminals

By: Reuters 27th July 2021 South African State logistics firm Transnet declared force majeure at major container terminals in the country after a cyberattack last week disrupted operations, a notice seen by Reuters showed on Tuesday. The document sent to customers and dated on Monday said the force majeure would be... →

An image of the Durban Container Terminal

Trade union disappointed that Labour Court case against Denel postponed again

By: Rebecca Campbell 26th July 2021 The Labour Court on Friday again postponed the case brought by trade union UASA against financially-embattled State-owned defence industrial group Denel. The case will now only be heard on December 2. The reason given for the postponement was to give Denel more time to fully comply with a court... →

Recovery from civil unrest will require ‘multipronged effort’ says BLSA

By: Simone Liedtke 26th July 2021 Recovering from the destruction of property in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng following recent civil unrest and protest action, will require a multipronged effort between the public and private sectors, says Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso. However, for those who are insured,... →

Eskom enhances its digital platforms

By: Simone Liedtke 23rd July 2021 State-owned power utility Eskom has embarked on a digital journey to increase its availability and accessibility to its customers. The enhanced MyEskom Customer app and the introduction of Alfred the chatbot are the first of many digital solutions to be launched to enhance Eskom’s customer... →

Transnet working ‘around the clock’ to fix IT disruption

By: Simone Liedtke 23rd July 2021 State-owned Transnet has identified and isolated the source of the disruption to its information technology (IT) systems and says technical teams continue to work “around the clock” to ensure the impact thereof remains minimal. Transnet on July 22 reported the disruption in some of its IT... →

Stage 2 load-shedding to hit SA on Thursday amid cold front

By: News24Wire 22nd July 2021 Eskom will implement stage 2 load-shedding from 16:00 to 21:00 on Thursday night due to generation issues, combined with the severe cold weather, the power utility announced. "Unfortunately, a generation unit each at Tutuka and Medupi Power Stations were forced offline this afternoon, increasing... →

Transnet IT app outage affecting container terminal operations

By: Schalk Burger 22nd July 2021 State-owned freight logistics company Transnet says it is experiencing a disruption in some of its information technology (IT) applications, although only container terminals are affected. "Operations across the group are continuing, with the Freight Rail, Pipelines, Engineering and Property... →

Grid could be under pressure with succession of cold fronts, Eskom warns

By: Simone Liedtke 20th July 2021 Following a warning from the South African Weather Service that a succession of cold fronts is expected to sweep across the country this week and going into the weekend, State-owned Eskom is appealing to the public to reduce electricity use as the cold conditions “will put severe pressure on the... →

Opinion: The smart road to prosperity

16th July 2021 In this opinion article, South African National Roads Agency head of engineering Louw Kannemeyer argues that smart transport, cities and infrastructure are intertwined in road construction. →

An image of a national road under management of the South African National Roads Agency

Opinion: Inclusive process now vital to define a collective electricity industry vision

15th July 2021 In this opinion article, Energy Intensive User Group CEO Fanele Mondi says that, although reforms allowing for higher levels of own generation will make a significant difference, there is also an urgent need for South Africans to collectively shape the future of the electricity supply industry... →

An image of Fanele Mondi, the CEO of the Energy Intensive User Group

Second train derails on South Africa’s coal-export line

By: Bloomberg 13th July 2021 State-owned rail company Transnet is investigating a second derailment in as many weeks on the nation’s main coal-export line. A locomotive traveling from Richards Bay, the site of Africa’s biggest coal terminal, derailed on July 11, shutting the route until the following day, the company said by... →

IRS-CI, Sars partner to tackle international crimes

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 7th July 2021 US law enforcement agency the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) and the South African Revenue Service’s (Sars) enforcement divisions are partnering to fight tax and economic crimes affecting both countries. The organisations are working together to identify,... →

High-capacity vehicles could be a cost-saver for Eskom

By: Simone Liedtke 6th July 2021 State-owned entities, like South Africa’s Eskom, should consider using high-capacity vehicles to reduce overall capital costs, says Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) principal research engineer Christopher de Saxe. A high-capacity vehicle is essentially a vehicle that carries... →

Transnet, unions agree to 5% wage increase for the current financial year

By: Schalk Burger 2nd July 2021 State-owned freight company Transnet has confirmed that it has reached a wage agreement with its recognised labour unions, the South African Transport Allied Workers Union and United National Transport Union, for a 5% increase for the current financial year for bargaining unit employees.... →

Eskom’s debt below R400bn amid funding talks, Gordhan says

By: Bloomberg 1st July 2021 South African power utility Eskom Holdings has reduced its debt to less than R400-billion as discussions ensue to secure funding for a transition to renewable energy, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan. The state-owned company announced in May it had reduced debt by a fifth to about... →

Photo by Bloomberg
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan

Opinion: Does the new 100MW cap solve all our renewable-energy problems?

28th June 2021 In this opinion article, Mike Roussos suggests that a new renewable-energy utility be established within the public sector to ensure that the State plays a direct role in establishing and guiding a new and cleaner energy dispensation for South Africa. →

PIC reduces shareholding in M&R

By: Simone Liedtke 28th June 2021 The State-owned Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has disposed of an interest in the ordinary shares of Murray & Roberts (M&R), taking its shareholding to 19.274%. This compares with its previous shareholding in M&R of 20.041%. →

Ramaphosa says separated grid company will ‘promote purchase of lowest-cost electricity’

By: Terence Creamer 28th June 2021 The creation of a separate State-owned transmission entity, as part of the restructuring of Eskom into three separate entities responsible for generation, transmission and distribution, has been held up by President Cyril Ramaphosa as key to promoting the purchase of the lowest-cost electricity... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

CT Lab to install 1 300 Otello edge devices for real-time power grid visibility

By: Schalk Burger 25th June 2021 Stellenbosch technology company CT Lab will deploy 1 300 Otello edge computing devices on State-owned power utility Eskom's grid to change how power is seen and managed on the grid, enabling full visibility of the power grid in real-time. Visibility is becoming a deciding factor in the... →

Eskom to implement 1.5% basic wage increase, changes to employee benefits

By: Schalk Burger 25th June 2021 State-owned power utility Eskom will implement a 1.5% basic wage increase with effect from July 1. Eskom says the offer is dependent on the efficiencies and savings realised from reviewing certain elements of employee benefits where there are excesses. The utility has identified possible... →

South Africa inflation surge unlikely to bring forward rate hike

By: Bloomberg 23rd June 2021 The rise in South Africa’s inflation rate to a 30-month high is unlikely to bring forward an interest-rate hike as the central bank had forecast a second-quarter spike in price growth. Consumer prices rose 5.2% in May from a year earlier, compared with 4.4% in April, Pretoria-based Statistics... →

Ports authority to become an independent subsidiary of Transnet

By: Yvonne Silaule 22nd June 2021 President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) will become an independent subsidiary of Transnet. During a site visit to the Port of Cape Town on June 22, the President commented that the creation of a separate subsidiary would allow the ports authority... →

The Port of Cape Town

100 MW reform ‘precursor’ to new market-driven electricity supply industry – De Ruyter

By: Terence Creamer 18th June 2021 Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has described the decision to lift the licence-exemption cap on own- or embedded-generation plants from 1 MW to 100 MW as not only positive for addressing South Africa’s immediate electricity shortages, but also as “the precursor to the development of a new electricity... →

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

Emergency power fiasco compounds South Africa’s energy crisis

By: Bloomberg 17th June 2021 The debacle surrounding South Africa’s bid to secure emergency power supplies has highlighted a dysfunctional energy policy that’s subjecting Africa’s most-industrialised nation to intermittent blackouts. Since March, the energy department has identified companies it wants to provide almost 2 000... →

RMB CEO commends govt for ‘taking the steps needed’ to mitigate South Africa’s economic challenges

By: Simone Liedtke 17th June 2021 Private sector banker Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) CEO James Formby has commended government for “finally taking the steps needed to tackle persistent power outages” by lifting the licensing-exemption threshold for embedded generation projects to 100 MW, from the previous 1 MW. He says it is an... →

Emergency power fiasco compounds South Africa’s energy crisis

By: Bloomberg 17th June 2021 The debacle surrounding South Africa’s bid to secure emergency power supplies has highlighted a dysfunctional energy policy that’s subjecting Africa’s most-industrialized nation to intermittent blackouts. Since March, the energy department has identified companies it wants to provide almost 2 000... →

Reinvestment in South Africa needed to ‘plant the seeds’ for a better future, says Exxaro

By: Simone Liedtke 15th June 2021 Reinvestment is needed to “plant the seeds” and create a better future for South Africa, says diversified miner Exxaro Resources projects and technology executive head Johan Meyer. This is especially critical considering that Covid-19 has made it more challenging to secure investments, but also... →

Collaborative effort needed to reignite sector

By: Halima Frost 11th June 2021 To address the effects of the lack of infrastructure projects in South Africa, cement manufacturer Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) MD Njombo Lekula has called for industry and government to work together to mitigate the knock-on effects on the cement sector. “We urgently need an agile and... →

PLANT POWER PPC has invested substantially in improving its various plants technologies and infrastructure to maximise efficacy

Projects, tariffs could boost sector demand

By: Halima Frost 11th June 2021 Although the local cement and concrete sector is experiencing its lowest production and supply levels in years, industry body Cement and Concrete South Africa (CCSA) CEO Bryan Perrie says earmarked infrastructure projects and import tariffs, if implemented, will be instrumental in boosting the... →

NEW DAWN
The implementation of proposed infrastructure projects will uplift the much needed demand of cement and concrete in South Africa

Cement & Concrete South Africa CEO Bryan Perrie discusses the current state if the industry, as well as the formation of the CCSA.

Ramaphosa moves to tackle growth-sapping electricity crisis by increasing licence-exemption cap on distributed projects to 100 MW

By: Terence Creamer 10th June 2021 In a surprise move, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday that the licence-exemption cap on self- or distributed-generation plants would be raised from 1 MW to 100 MW to help address the country's electricity crisis, which has been weighing down economic growth and confidence for more... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

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