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Bombardier opens new propulsion equipment production site in Isando

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 25th August 2016 Rail technology provider Bombardier Transportation on Thursday inaugurated a new 6 000 m2 production site and headquarters in Isando. The facility will produce Bombardier Mitrac high-power propulsion equipment for use in the Transnet locomotives project, for which Bombardier is delivering 240... →

Nersa committee recommends that RCA judgment be appealed

By: Terence Creamer 24th August 2016 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) electricity subcommittee will recommend that the Energy Regulator, which meets on Thursday, appeal the recent High Court judgment setting aside its Regulatory Clearing Account (RCA) determination, which enabled Eskom to increase its tariff... →

Photo by Duane Daws
Nersa’s Thembani Bukula

Outa, SAA whistleblower claim victory over SAA

By: Sane Dhlamini 24th August 2016 State-owned South African Airways (SAA) on Monday agreed to hold suspended SAA group treasurer Cynthia Stimpel’s disciplinary hearing at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) following her defensive challenge in the Labour Court. The matter will be heard by an... →

Govt sheds light on Zuma's role as head of SOCs

By: News24Wire 24th August 2016 The government clarified President Jacob Zuma’s role in the leadership of state owned companies (SOCs) on Tuesday, amid allegations of state capture where the Guptas use their friendship with Zuma as a way of winning contracts in the critical sector. The Guptas have been central figures in the... →

Photo by Duane Daws
President Jacob Zuma

Govt, AMSA reach accord on steel price basket

By: Kim Cloete 23rd August 2016 Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) and government have agreed to remove import parity pricing with immediate effect in a bid to boost South Africa’s steel industry. The local price for flat steel products will be based on an import-weighted basket. →

Eskom under fire as Ingula costs said to balloon to R36bn

By: News24Wire 22nd August 2016 Eskom’s board is facing calls to appear before Parliament with documents relating to the Ingula pumped storage scheme, which has allegedly seen costs spiral from R8.9-billion to R36-billion. On July 27, President Jacob Zuma unveiled the first of four turbines at Ingula, which is on the border of... →

New unit to be set up to oversee rail local-content push

By: Terence Creamer 22nd August 2016 The Department of Public Enterprises and National Treasury will consolidate procurement for locomotives into a single institution, under Transnet, to ensure “efficiency and compliance with the localisation requirements”. The decision to set up the unit was made at the recent Cabinet lekgotla,... →

South Africa won’t change IPP course ‘midstream’

By: Terence Creamer 22nd August 2016 Cabinet appears to have put paid to Eskom efforts to halt the country’s highly regarded independent power producer (IPP) programme, with Minister in The Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Jeff Radebe indicating on Monday that there was no intention to “change course midstream”.... →

Minister in The Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Jeff Radebe on South Africa's commitment to the IPP programme. Camera Work & Editing: Nicholas Boyd. Recorded: 22.8.2016

Wind, solar can supply bulk of South Africa’s power at least cost, CSIR model shows

By: Terence Creamer 22nd August 2016 The dramatic fall in the cost of supplying power from wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) plants has moved the global electricity supply industry beyond a critical “tipping point”, which leading energy scientist Dr Tobias Bischof-Niemz says is irreversibly altering the operating model, with... →

Photo by Duane Daws
Dr Tobias Bischof-Niemz

Presidency denies Zuma rift with National Treasury over SAA board

By: African News Agency 22nd August 2016 The presidency on Sunday denied a rift between President Jacob Zuma and Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan over the South African Airways (SAA) board chaired by Zuma’s personal friend Dudu Myeni. “The presidency has noted media reports alleging a rift between the presidency and the National Treasury... →

Kumba wins EY integrated reporting award

By: Anine Kilian 19th August 2016 Professional services firm EY has selected Kumba Iron Ore as the overall winner of its Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards for 2016. For the awards, EY considered the top 100 JSE-listed companies and top State-owned entities (SOEs). The awards were adjudicated by the University of Cape... →

Outa investigating possibility of class action against Eskom

By: Samantha Herbst 18th August 2016 The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) will be engaging with various experts to assess the viability of a class action law suit against State-owned Eskom, on behalf of the public, to recoup amounts unlawfully charged by the power utility. This follows the North Gauteng High Court’s decision to... →

Editorial: Nersa judgment epitomises rise in civil society vigilance

By: Terence Creamer 17th August 2016 In all spheres of South African public life, the level of civil-society engagement and vigilance is rising. Increasingly, too, citizens are not merely tackling issues at the level of principle, but are also taking into account the minutiae of procedural fairness, executive responsibility and... →

Corruption Watch invites public comment on Public Protector candidates

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 12th August 2016 Corruption Watch has launched an online voting tool on its website allowing members of the public to vote for their preferred candidate for the position of Public Protector. The results of this voting poll, designed to inform the Parliamentary ad hoc committee about the public’s opinion on the... →

Call for SAA business rescue amid funding woes

By: News24Wire 11th August 2016 The recent High Court judgment ordering South African Airways (SAA) to pay Nationwide Airlines more than R104.6-million in damages for uncompetitive practices means the national carrier now has no wriggling room left, Alf Lees, the DA's deputy shadow minister of finance, said on Thursday. He... →

R105m fine for abuse serves SAA right – former Nationwide MD

By: News24Wire 10th August 2016 South African Airlines (SAA) "tried all the tricks in the book", but the law has finally prevailed and it "serves them right", Vernon Bricknell former owner and MD of Nationwide Airlines, told Fin24 on Wednesday. Although he is disappointed that the South Gauteng High Court did not award the full... →

Wage strike starts at South Africa power utility Eskom, supplies stable

By: Reuters 8th August 2016 Workers downed tools Monday at three South African power stations with more set to follow as a wage strike began at State-run utility Eskom, but the company said its operations had not yet been impacted and branded the stoppage illegal. Paris Mashego, NUM's energy sector coordinator, told Reuters... →

Transnet outlines ‘low-road’ investment scenario amid demand uncertainty

By: Terence Creamer 2nd August 2016 State-owned freight logistics group Transnet reports that its multibillion-rand capital expenditure (capex) plan, which has already been rephased in response to weaker-than-expected market demand, could be further moderated under what it terms a “low-road scenario”. Outlining its revised capital... →

Will the recovery in Eskom’s plant availability be sustained?

By: Terence Creamer 2nd August 2016 In its most recent presentations on the performance of its power stations, Eskom has pointed to improvements in the energy availability factor (EAF) from its coal-fired power stations over the past few months as evidence of a solid operational turnaround. The State-owned utility shows, for... →

Photo by Duane Daws
On road to recovery?

New steel chief seeks dialogue on power-tariff risks

By: Terence Creamer 29th July 2016 New ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) CEO Wim de Klerk views the prospect of ongoing electricity tariff increases as among his chief anxieties as he settles in at a company that is edging towards recovery, having not shown a profit since 2010. Addressing shareholders for the first time on Friday,... →

New aviation statistics report shows strong South African passenger growth

By: Keith Campbell 29th July 2016 Airline passenger traffic is growing strongly in South Africa. "Passenger growth in South Africa is defying all economic logic!" highlighted Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) CEO Bongani Maseko on Friday. Passenger traffic growth usually reflects growth in gross domestic product (GDP). "GDP... →

Photo by Duane Daws
ACSA CEO Bongani Maseko

South Africa's main two airports to expand capacity again

By: Keith Campbell 29th July 2016 The Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) is planning to start work on new or expanded domestic passenger terminal facilities at both Cape Town International Airport and Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport in the near future. ACSA CEO Bongani Maseko conveyed this information to... →

Photo by Duane Daws
OR Tambo International airport

Energy Minister cracks down on CEF governance

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 27th July 2016 The Central Energy Fund (CEF) board will review its governance processes, as well as its turnaround strategies for the subsidiaries in the group, after Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson raised concerns around the recent lapses in governance in the group. At a meeting held earlier this month... →

SAA requires a whole new board – Gordhan

By: News24Wire 26th July 2016 Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said South African Airways (SAA) requires a whole new board on Tuesday. Speaking at the EY and Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) business breakfast in Sandton on Tuesday, Gordhan said SAA needs an an experienced management team. →

GE aiming to change coal narrative with high-efficiency power solutions

By: Terence Creamer 26th July 2016 Technology group GE is beginning to actively make the case for clean coal, having concluded that coal-fired generation will remain a major, albeit relatively smaller, part of the future electricity mix in many parts of the world. GE Power global sales and marketing leader for steam power systems,... →

Photo by Duane Daws
Michael Keroullé

Opposition calls for legal opinion on further extension for SAA financials

By: African News Agency 25th July 2016 The Democratic Alliance on Monday urged Parliament’s standing committee on finance to seek legal advice on whether it is allowed to grant National Treasury a third extension in tabling South African Airways’s financial results. "It is in our contention that there is no provision made in the... →

Nafcoc ‘alarmed’ by Eskom move against IPPs

By: Terence Creamer 25th July 2016 The National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nafcoc) has added its voice to those questioning Eskom’s resistance to connecting new independent power producers (IPPs), saying it is “alarmed” by the State-owned electricity producer’s move. In a letter sent to Energy Minister... →

Eskom’s IPP stance seen undermining investment and green industrialisation

By: Terence Creamer 22nd July 2016 The decision by Eskom not to sign any new power purchase agreements (PPAs) with independent power producers (IPPs) beyond those selected in the latest competitive bidding round could have a “chilling” effect on investment and undermine industrialisation efforts under way in the green economy,... →

An update on the state of the electricity system

22nd July 2016 Engineering News editor Terence Creamer tells Creamer Media’s Samantha Herbst about Eskom’s latest media briefing. →

An update on the state of the electricity system

Transport costs undermining African farmers

By: Irma Venter 22nd July 2016 A study shows that agricultural fertiliser can land at the Kenyan Port of Mombasa at $350/t, and then sell for 300% to 400% more 1 000 km inland, says Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa CEO Argent Chuula. “The same is... →

Eskom letter sends shock waves through private power sector

By: Terence Creamer 21st July 2016 News of Eskom’s letter to Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson – seeking clarity on the approach the utility should take to contracting in future with independent power producers (IPPs) – sent shock waves through the private power community, which is only just starting to find its feet in a... →

Photo by Duane Daws
Eskom chairperson Dr Ben Ngubane

SAA must be put under business rescue – DA

By: News24Wire 20th July 2016 The stalemate between Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and South African Airways (SAA) chairperson Dudu Myeni is rapidly driving the national carrier to total collapse and this cannot be allowed to happen, said the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday. The DA believes there should be an application... →

$150m Brics bank facility seen helping ease South Africa’s grid bottlenecks

By: Terence Creamer 19th July 2016 State-owned electricity producer Eskom expects to finalise commercial terms with the New Development Bank (NDB), of the Brics grouping, for a $150-million facility in the next quarter, CFO Anoj Singh reports. A term sheet has been signed with the NDB and Singh reports that, once consummated, the... →

Photo by Duane Daws
Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown

Eskom moves to raise exports as it closes in on 80% plant-availability goal

By: Terence Creamer 19th July 2016 State-owned electricity producer Eskom says it is on course to achieve its stated goal of achieving an energy availability factor (EAF) of 80% well ahead of its 2021 target, reporting a steady recovery in the performance of its fleet of coal-fired power stations. As a consequence, the utility... →

Eskom CEO Brian Molefe outlines progress regarding the energy availability factor at its power stations. Camera Work: Nicholas Boyd. Editing: Lionel da Silva. Recorded: 19.7.2016

SAA banking tender deferred due to debt consolidation

By: News24Wire 19th July 2016 South African Airways' (SAA) controversial appointment of little-known finance company BnP Capital was not only expensive; it also put on hold an approved banking tender to Nedbank. News24 can exclusively reveal that SAA's board approved the awarding of banking services to Nedbank on May 27, for... →

Boeing, Mango in Africa's first jet biofuel flight

By: Anine Kilian 15th July 2016 Aircraft manufacturer Boeing, along with South African Airways (SAA) and its low-cost carrier Mango on Friday celebrated Africa’s first commercial passenger flights using sustainable aviation biofuel. The flights used sustainable jet biofuel produced from research and development company... →

Gordhan requests extension for SAA’s financial statement

By: Creamer Media Reporter 14th July 2016 Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has requested Parliament grant an extension until September 15 to table South African Airways’ (SAA’s) annual financial statement (AFS), the National Treasury said on Thursday. The national airliner’s AFS could not be finalised until a decision had been made on its... →

Photo by Duane Daws
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan

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