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High chance of load-shedding later today – Eskom

By: News24Wire 8th November 2019 Eskom announced on Friday morning that South Africa's national power system remains "tight and vulnerable" with a high risk or rotational power cuts later in the day. This comes after the power utility terminated stage 2 load-shedding at 05:00 on Friday morning. The utility did not say when... →

Gautrain resumes full train service after power outage left morning commuters stranded

By: African News Agency 8th November 2019 Commuter service Gautrain resumed full services on Friday after hundreds of passengers were earlier left stranded when a power outage forced trains to stop running halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria and on the route between the Sandton district and OR Tambo International Airport. "We are... →

African power utilities owe Eskom more than R600m in outstanding payments – DA

By: African News Agency 7th November 2019 Electricity company Eskom is owed R632-million in outstanding payments by other African State-owned power utilities, the main opposition Democratic Alliance said on Thursday, citing public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan. Gordhan's response to questions in parliament showed that neighbouring... →

Anglo American says Eskom poses a major risk for investors

By: Bloomberg 6th November 2019 South Africa’s beleaguered State power utility and regulatory uncertainty are the biggest risks for investors wanting to put their money in the country, according to Anglo American. The challenges presented by Eskom Holdings “probably represents our single most-important risk we deal with,” Anglo... →

Eskom bonds punished as investors clamour for faster turnaround

By: Bloomberg 6th November 2019 Some investors are getting out of Eskom Holdings dollar bonds amid concern South Africa is taking too long to implement a turnaround plan and explain what it will do about the utility’s $35-billion of debt. Yields on the struggling power company’s dollar bonds due 2025 climbed to a one-month high... →

Eskom ramps up emergency generation to keep power on

By: News24Wire 6th November 2019 After some its generating units failed over the weekend, South Africa's power supply was running dangerously low by Wednesday morning. Eskom is now battling an electricity shortfall of 12 000MW due to these breakdowns and unplanned maintenance. Eskom urged customers to use power sparingly, by... →

Moody's lowers Eskom's junk rating on restructuring doubts

By: Reuters 5th November 2019 Moody's pushed state power firm Eskom's credit rating deeper into subinvestment territory on Tuesday, saying a government plan to reorganise the cash-strapped South African firm would be hard to implement without explicit support from the cabinet. Moody's cut Eskom's long-term corporate family... →

Electricity situation constrained but no rolling blackouts expected – Eskom

By: African News Agency 5th November 2019 South Africa's electricity system is severely constrained and will remain so until at least Thursday, although rotational blackouts to avoid tripping the grid are not expected, state utility Eskom said late on Monday. Eskom was forced to implement rolling power cuts – or load-shedding – earlier... →

Eskom to cut power supply to Govan Mbeki Municipality if R50m bill isn't settled

By: News24Wire 4th November 2019 Residents in Secunda, Bethal, Trichardt, Kinross and Evander are on the verge of being left in the dark after the Govan Mbeki municipality once again failed to settle an arrears account of R50-million. Eskom sent an urgent notice to municipal manager Felani Mndebele, informing him that Eskom... →

Eskom says IRP 2019 calls for accelerated grid investment

By: Terence Creamer 31st October 2019 State-owned electricity producer Eskom is warning that the generation roadmap contained in the Integrated Resource Plan 2019 (IRP 2019) will require a material acceleration in the pace of investment in grid infrastructure so that the renewable-energy plants envisaged in the plan can be integrated... →

Thousands affected as Eskom cuts power to non-payers in Gauteng

By: News24Wire 31st October 2019 On Thursday, Eskom cut electricity supply to Lakeside Extension 1 and 2 of Orange Farm in the Vaal Area, after local households failed to pay their bills, or refused to buy electricity tokens. Almost 2 700 households are affected. Eskom says it increasingly disconnecting non-paying customers... →

NUM threatens more power cuts over Eskom split

By: Reuters 31st October 2019 The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) threatened on Wednesday to cause more power cuts over the government's decision to forge ahead with a plan to break up struggling State power firm Eskom. Eskom produces more than 90% of South Africa's electricity and the country has endured several rounds... →

Eskom COO sees some light at the end of the tunnel, despite utility's debt burden

By: Kim Cloete 30th October 2019 Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer says he sees some light at the end of the Eskom tunnel as long as the utility gets financial assistance from government. He told delegates attending the Southern Africa Power Summit, in Cape Town, that Eskom has excellent engineers and specialists but was struggling with... →

Treasury keeps Eskom debt-relief powder dry as it awaits unbundling progress

By: Terence Creamer 30th October 2019 Finance Minister Tito Mboweni did not unveil a debt-relief plan for struggling power utility Eskom in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, announcing instead that any debt restructuring would be negotiated only once the utility had reduced costs and made unbundling progress. The total cost of... →

SOEs adding to govt spending pressure; e-tolls to remain

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 30th October 2019 South African Airways is one of a number of State-owned enterprises adding to spending pressures on government, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni reiterated on Wednesday. He pointed out that the airline was insolvent and, in its current configuration, unlikely to ever generate sufficient cash flow... →

No load-shedding on Wednesday, low probability for the week

By: African News Agency 30th October 2019 No load-shedding was expected for Wednesday after generating plant performance improved and the probability of load-shedding remained low for the rest of the week, Eskom said. "Eskom has not implemented rotational load-shedding for the past ten days and the probability of load-shedding is low for... →

Eskom stations to be clustered into ‘competing’ units, as timeframe is set for transmission separation

By: Terence Creamer 29th October 2019 The South African government has opted for an evolutionary approach to the restructuring of Eskom, the details of which are provided in a ‘special paper’ released by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan on Tuesday. Titled a ‘Roadmap for Eskom in a Reformed Electricity Supply Industry’, the... →

Photo by Bloomberg
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan

Municipality will not be bypassed, says Eskom

By: Marleny Arnoldi 29th October 2019 State-owned Eskom on Tuesday clarified information reported by local media houses on Monday, involving power delivery directly to Harrismith’s 100 biggest power users, to bypass the local Maluti-a-Phofung municipality, owing to its debt to Eskom. The utility stated in a media release that the... →

Eskom: Low chance of load-shedding after 'significant progress towards full recovery'

By: News24Wire 28th October 2019 Eskom says it is does not expect to have to institute rotational power cuts this week, after making "significant progress towards full recovery" with several generating units now again operational. In its first power alert of the new week, the utility also announced that water reserves for... →

Eskom and a group of businesses strike a landmark deal, sidelining the local municipality

By: News24Wire 28th October 2019 A landmark agreement between Eskom and businesses in a Free State town may sideline more dysfunctional municipalities in future. Rapport reports that the Harrismith Business Forum signed a contract with Eskom on Friday whereby the power utility will deliver power directly to the town's 100... →

Eskom’s electricity system improves after last week's supply constraint

By: African News Agency 25th October 2019 South Africa's main electricity provider Eskom said on Friday its system had made significant progress towards full recovery after severe supply constraints last week. The State-owned utility implemented rotational blackouts last week to avoid tripping the national grid, which it said had come... →

Zimbabwe to cut power to mines, others over $77m in unpaid bills

By: Reuters 24th October 2019 Zimbabwe's State-owned electricity distributor, grappling with drought and ageing equipment, said on Thursday it will disconnect mines, farms and other users as it looks to recover $77-million in unpaid bills. The Southern African nation is experiencing daily power cuts lasting up to 18 hours... →

IRP 2019 broadly welcomed

24th October 2019 Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the country’s general acceptance of the IRP 2019, the short-term gap in electricity supply that needs to be filled and what the next steps will be for implementing the plan. →

IRP 2019 broadly welcomed

National Assembly approves lifeline for Eskom

By: African News Agency 23rd October 2019 The National Assembly on Tuesday approved a special appropriations bill granting Eskom an additional R59-billion bailout, with the African National Congress (ANC) prevailing against dissent from opposition members of Parliament (MPs) who want greater intervention to turn around the struggling... →

Load shedding could trip up investment, warns Ramaphosa's adviser ahead of conference

By: News24Wire 22nd October 2019 Security of energy supply can be an advantage in securing investment, but in SA, load shedding is a "significant investment constraint," president Cyril Ramaphosa's economic adviser Trudi Makhaya has warned. The economist was speaking at Parliament on Tuesday, addressing journalists at a briefing... →

Photo by Reuters
Trudi Makhaya

South Africa deficits expected to widen on Eskom woes

By: Reuters 22nd October 2019 South Africa's finance minister is likely to raise the medium-term targets for budget deficits, a Reuters poll forecast on Tuesday, because of costs related to the state-owned power utility, Eskom. A poll of 14 economists surveyed in the past week predicted Finance Minister Tito Mboweni would... →

No load-shedding expected for Tuesday but system remains vulnerable – Eskom

By: African News Agency 22nd October 2019 The probability of load-shedding is low for the week but the system remains extremely constrained and vulnerable, power utility Eskom said on Tuesday. It said any unexpected shift such as unplanned breakdowns due to the vulnerability of the system could result in load-shedding at short notice. →

Eskom seeks to recover R207m from Deloitte

By: African News Agency 22nd October 2019 Eskom is seeking the setting aside of awards for two contracts and the recovery of R207 716 243.80 for improperly-awarded work, during 2016, from auditing firm Deloitte Consulting. The embattled state power supplier also wants its former chief financial officer Anoj Singh, and senior executive... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Dylan Slater
Eskom acting group CEO Jabu Mabuza

Investors turn defensive as Eskom’s day of reckoning approaches

By: Bloomberg 21st October 2019 Investors are prepared for the worst as the day of reckoning looms for Eskom Holdings, the State-owned power utility seen by Goldman Sachs Group as the biggest threat to the country’s economy. Yields on benchmark South African government notes are at their highest in three weeks, trumped only by... →

South Africa's energy mix still to lean on coal in next decade

By: Reuters 18th October 2019 Coal will continue to play a significant role in South Africa's plan to boost electricity generation over the next decade, with more renewable energy also lined up, Mineral Resources & Energy minister Gwede Mantashe said on Friday. He said the additional capacity for the energy mix until 2030... →

Mineral Resources & Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

South Africans aren’t only ones in dark as Eskom rescue is awaited

By: Bloomberg 18th October 2019 As South Africa enters its third day of blackouts, investors are still awaiting word from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration on how it’s going to fix the ailing State power company. The outages are being imposed by Eskom, the behemoth utility that’s been without a permanent CEO since... →

Cabinet approves IRP2019

By: African News Agency 17th October 2019 Cabinet on Thursday announced it had approved the promulgation of the Integrated Resource Plan, South Africa's policy blueprint for the electricity sector. The IRP spells out a proposed energy mix for the country until 2030. In a statement, Cabinet said "most of the inputs" from experts in the... →

Eskom to implement rotational powercuts for second day

By: African News Agency 17th October 2019 State power utility Eskom said it would apply rotational blackouts for a second day on Thursday, suppressing 2 000MW of demand at any given time between 9am and 11pm to avoid overwhelming the strained national grid. The powercuts have already affected ongoing national examinations for students... →

Electricity tariffs tussle and the return of load-shedding

17th October 2019 Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about Eskom’s plan to take another Nersa determination on legal review, the renewed threat of load-shedding and the best way for the country to deal with the threat to South Africa’s economy. →

Electricity tariffs tussle and the return of load-shedding

Zimbabwe starts further power cuts due to Eskom outages

By: Bloomberg 16th October 2019 The power blackouts announced by South Africa’s Eskom Holdings will exacerbate power shortages in neighbouring Zimbabwe. Eskom’s cuts will affect imports that Zimbabwe receives from Africa’s largest power utility, Zimbabwe Electricity Distribution said on Twitter Wednesday. The southern African... →

Eskom musn't use load-shedding to get more money – DA

By: News24Wire 16th October 2019 The Democratic Alliance has warned Eskom of using load-shedding as a bargaining chip for the debt-laden utility to secure more money from government and clients. Less than a month ago, the official opposition warned of a growing risk of power cuts, alleging that Eskom had warned municipalities... →

Rand tumbles 1% as Eskom plans nationwide power cuts

By: Reuters 16th October 2019 South Africa's rand tumbled more than 1% on Wednesday to its softest level in a week after state power utility Eskom said it would implement nationwide blackouts for the first time in more than six months due to capacity shortages. The rand was 1% weaker at 15.0550 per dollar, its lowest since... →

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