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Transmission & Distribution News

Exponential increase in the number of power generation projects

By: Nadine James 17th February 2017 The African continent’s large energy deficit has resulted in an exponential increase in the number of power generation projects – both planned and implemented – as well as the number of stakeholders which are a consequence of renewed commercial interest in the African energy sector, says... →

City Power clamps down on corruption, welcomes forensic investigation

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 16th February 2017 Johannesburg City Power chairperson Reverend Frank Chikane on Thursday said the company’s board welcomes any forensic investigation into multibillion-rand tenders awarded by the entity. City Mayor Herman Mashaba earlier this month said he would start such an investigation after hearing of serious... →

City Power chairperson Reverend Frank Chikane

Northern Cape municipalities avoid Eskom power cuts after making payment plans

By: African News Agency 15th February 2017 Eskom has said that it would not be implementing power cuts to the Northern Cape municipalities of Ubuntu and Renosterberg that were scheduled to take place on Wednesday. Eskom had initialy announced that it would implement “scheduled bulk power supply interruptions” to defaulting municipalities... →

Microlevel electricity grids advantageous for African applications

By: Donna Slater 10th February 2017 Although the price of electricity and cost of generation in many African countries are major challenges, they also present opportunities to implement clean small-scale energy solutions that can use existing infrastructure and apply Africa’s natural resources, says energy, water,... →

Conference aims to foster low carbon economy

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 3rd February 2017 With South Africa’s signing of the Paris Agreement at the United Nations twenty-first Conference of the Parties in 2015 requiring it to have met certain greenhouse-gas emission reduction targets from a mitigation and an adaptation point of view by 2020, this year’s Industrial Efficiency... →

TRANSFORMING INDUSTRIES The Industrial Efficiency Conference aims to guide industries in energy, water and waste efficiency

Two Mpumalanga municipalities struggling to settle Eskom debt, says DA

By: African News Agency 31st January 2017 Two Mpumalanga municipalities were unable to honour debt payments to Eskom and could face total blackout this week, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday. “These two municipalities are the only remaining ones out of the initial eight, that have failed to reach an agreement with Eskom on... →

Solar LED light available in Southern Africa

By: Sascha Solomons 27th January 2017 To reach its goal of enlarging its footprint in Southern Africa, solar street light manufacturing and distribution company Solar Eco Systems Africa has made promotional magnets manufacturer Magnet Energy an exclusive distributor of its range of self-sustaining solar light-emitting diode (LED)... →

SOLAR LED STREET LIGHTING Solar Eco Systems Africa’s range of self-sustaining solar LED street lighting combine enhanced aesthetics and the latest PV and LED technology

Africa’s rapid urbanisation a boon for ICT sector – Siemens

By: Schalk Burger 27th January 2017 African governments and the private sector have an opportunity to roll out services for digital access and use as a utility, which will extend information and communication technology (ICT), improve digital maturity, and help to develop Africa and its cities to deal with urbanisation, says... →

SABINE DALL’OMO The manufacturing, transport and energy industries can benefit greatly from digitalisation to help overcome persistent challenges in the sectors

Ongoing solar projects promote IPP success

By: Sascha Solomons 27th January 2017 Global private engineering and technology company Sener and its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partners, Emvelo and Cobra, are scheduled to complete the EPC of the 100 MW Ilanga solar thermal power plant near Upington, in the Northern Cape, at the end of 2018. The company... →

Sener’s Southern Africa regional MD Siyabonga Mbanjwa discusses the importance of solar energy, as well as current projects the company is working on.

Committee calls for permanent solution to municipal electricity debt problem

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 18th January 2017 The Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on Wednesday said it was concerned about Eskom’s plans to cut electricity to certain municipalities that were defaulting on payments and that it would hold a meeting with all the affected parties to find a lasting solution to... →

Eskom cuts power to some defaulting municipalities in North West, Northern Cape

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 18th January 2017 As part of its debt collection efforts, State-owned Eskom on Wednesday started interruptions of bulk electricity supply to some defaulting municipalities in North West and the Northern Cape. The municipalities of Naledi, Lekwa-Teemane and Kgetlengrivier, in North West, as well as the Ubuntu and... →

Sanral rehabilitation project derisks Uitenhage power failures

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 17th January 2017 The completion of an R80-million slope stabilisation engineering project in Nelson Mandela Bay metropolitan region, in the Eastern Cape, has prevented the risk of damage to power cables and related blackouts in Uitenhage. The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) said on Tuesday... →

F4SD wants municipal officials fired for not paying Eskom

By: African News Agency 13th January 2017 Municipalities must fire officials responsible for failing to honour arrangements to pay their debts to Eskom, the Forum 4 Service Delivery (F4SD) said on Friday. “We are concerned that all residents,including those who pay for their electricity will be affected when Eskom starts to cut... →

Gordhan to act against municipalities which owe Eskom money

By: News24Wire 12th January 2017 Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said National Treasury will act against municipalities which have failed to settle their debt to Eskom, Fin24’s sister publication Netwerk24 reported. In a letter to Democratic Alliance MP for the Free State David Ross, Gordhan raised his concern over Eskom’s... →

Sanco urges Cogta to place municipalities defaulting on Eskom payments under administration

By: African News Agency 9th January 2017 The cooperative governance and traditional affairs department (cogta) should place municipalities that have failed to pay their overdue Eskom debt under financial administration, the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) said on Sunday. “Invoking section 139 to allow intervention by... →

Court dismisses Afriforum’s interdict, Eskom to cut off defaulting municipalities

By: African News Agency 5th January 2017 The North Gauteng High Court on Thursday dismissed with costs AfriForum’s application to prevent Eskom from cutting off power of more than seven municipalities who are billions of rand in arrears. This comes after AfriForum and AfriBusiness sought to interdict Eskom’s planned reduction of the... →

AfriForum to challenge Eskom's right to cut power to municipalities

By: News24Wire 3rd January 2017 AfriForum and its commercial interest group AfriBusiness will apply for an urgent interdict in the High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday to prevent Eskom from cutting electricity to five municipalities that have not paid their bills. In a statement, the lobby group said it was not fair to cut power... →

Eskom’s excess generation capacity builds as Kusile Unit 1 ties-in to national grid

By: Henry Lazenby 28th December 2016 South Africa’s electricity utility Eskom has connected the first power-generating unit of the new Kusile coal-fired power station, in Mpumalanga; reaching the milestone ahead of schedule and adding 800 MW to further stabilise the energy grid. In a statement Tuesday, Eskom said it is making... →

Northern Cape wind farms receive main transformers

By: David Oliveira 16th December 2016 The Northern Cape-based Khobab and Loeriesfontein wind farms announced last month that they had received their main transformer, which were transported by road from Johannesburg. The 160 MVA transformers are to be housed in substations, from where all the generated power from the wind farms will... →

Zambia eyes energy diversification, reviews South Africa's progress

By: Natasha Odendaal 9th December 2016 Zambia has started reviewing its options to reverse the country's current energy constraints and diversify its own energy mix, leaving no viable potential initiatives off the table as it seeks to become a "power trader". The mostly hydropowered Southern African country is currently battling... →

Zambian President Edgar Lungu

Public consultations for IRP, IEP get under way as DoE attracts criticism over timelines, pricing basis

By: Natasha Odendaal 7th December 2016 Planned nationwide public consultations got under way in Boksburg on Wednesday for the Department of Energy’s (DoE’s) long-awaited draft Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) and updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), drawing some industry criticism regarding timelines and an outdated pricing structure.... →

1 500 houses in Risinga View village in Limpopo now have electricity – Eskom

By: African News Agency 6th December 2016 As many as 1 500 houses in Risinga View village, near Giyani in Limpopo, have been connected to the grid allowing them to have electricity for the for the first time, Eskom said on Tuesday. The project at Risinga View started in July 2016 and took four months to complete. It was energised from... →

Eskom outlook still negative, but could change – Moody’s

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 6th December 2016 Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has affirmed State-owned power utility Eskom’s Ba1 senior unsecured and senior unsecured medium-term notes’ ratings, while simultaneously assigning to Eskom a national scale rating of A2.za. The outlook on both ratings is negative. In its statement,... →

Eskom reiterates 50%-plus black ownership requirement for coal suppliers

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 5th December 2016 State-owned electricity provider Eskom on Monday reiterated its commitment to procure coal for its power stations from companies that have a black ownership of more than 50%, throughout the life of the mine. This comes after Exxaro Resources recently revealed a new black economic empowerment... →

Illegal electricity connections tripping up service delivery in Cape Town

By: African News Agency 5th December 2016 The City of Cape Town’s electricity services department is facing an uphill battle to prevent illegal connections to the grid, the city said on Sunday. Last week, attempts to disconnect illegal users resulted in violent protest action in Schaapkraal and the Philippi horticultural area. →

Parallel generator plants a cost effective solution

By: Robyn Wilkinson 2nd December 2016 The parallel synchronisation of smaller generators to achieve the same power outputs as a single large generator offers significant cost-saving benefits to South African businesses that must manage continued grid power supply uncertainties, says generator manufacturer Maverick Generators MD... →

ALTERNATE POWER PLANTS Maverick Generator’s eight-unit parallel generator plant has proven to be a cost-effective back-up power solution for an agriculture company in Limpopo

Monitoring portal ensures standby power equipment is primed

By: Robyn Wilkinson 2nd December 2016 Power management solutions provider Powermode has introduced its monitoring portal, which provides real-time feedback on the performance of standby power equipment to prevent power failures. →

RELIABLE READINGS The Powermode Monitoring Portal provides more accurate information than other systems owing to its ability to measure both the incoming and outgoing current in the battery

86 MW Northern Cape solar photovoltaic plant connected to national grid

By: Donna Slater 2nd December 2016 Developed on a remote site 50 km south-west of Prieska in the Northern Cape, the 86 MW Mulilo-Sonnedix-Prieska photovoltaic (PV) project was connected to the national grid in October, thereby finalising the project on schedule, on budget and reaching full grid code compliance in good time for... →

MEGA POWER The 86 MW Mulilo-Sonnedix-Prieska photovoltaic project has the capacity to power 86 000 homes

Proposed standards for vegetable oil for use in transformers problematic – engineer

By: Schalk Burger 2nd December 2016 The standards proposed for the production of vegetable oils to use as electricity transformer oil are unnecessary, and prevent the inclusion of smaller producers who stand to benefit most and provide the greatest number of new employment opportunities, says retired chemical engineer John... →

Eskom commissions 765 kV transmission line in Western Cape

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 1st December 2016 State-owned Eskom earlier this week commissioned its 765 kV Kappa–Sterrekus transmission line, connecting the Western Cape to the network over and above the 400 kV network. The 765 kV is one of the highest voltages used for electricity transfer in the world. This line connects Sterrekus’s 765 kV... →

Zimbabwe to implement key regional power inter-connector project in 2018

By: African News Agency 28th November 2016 The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) said it would start working on its component of the regional Zimbabwe-Zambian-Botswana-Namibia (Zizabona) electricity inter-connector project early in 2018. The announcement came shortly after the country received a... →

Rwandan peat-to-power project to generate 80 MW

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 28th November 2016 A $350-million deal has been signed to finance an 80 MW peat-to-power project in Rwanda, which aims to increase access to electricity for the three-quarters of the country’s population that is currently off the grid. The group of signatories includes Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), which is... →

ABB delivers R1.2m substation to CPUT

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 22nd November 2016 Power and automation group ABB will this month deliver a R1.2-million UniPack compact substation to the Cape Peninsula University of Technology’s (CPUT’s) chemical engineering building, aimed at improving the university’s electrical network monitoring. The substation, the first to be supplied by... →

Operation Khanyisa cuts illegal electricity connections

16th November 2016 With electricity theft resulting in about R15.9-billion loss to the country’s municipal accounts every year, Eskom anti-theft campaign Operation Khanyisa is increasing its reach. →

Operation Khanyisa cuts illegal electricity connections

Eskom’s Mbuli named SAIEE’s Engineer of the Year

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 15th November 2016 The South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE) has named Eskom’s Dr Nhlanhla Mbuli as its Engineer of the Year. The award is given to a member of the SAIEE who has “energetically and voluntary” worked towards promoting electrical science and its applications to the benefit of the... →

Amplats pilots fuel cell rural electrification microgrid

9th November 2016 Anglo American Platinum has piloted the electrification of 34 households using a methanol-based fuel cell microgrid over the past 28 months. It will decommission the field trial next month. →

Amplats pilots fuel cell rural electrification microgrid

Eskom renews commitment to GO15, executive elected to board

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 8th November 2016 Eskom on Tuesday said it would continue investing in transmission infrastructure, aimed at leveraging advanced technology solutions for a reliable and sustainable power grid. As one of 19 international large power grid operators (PGOs), Eskom is a member of global PGO voluntary initiative GO15,... →

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