State-owned power utility Eskom indicated during a court hearing on Friday that it would not seek to recover more than R23-billion in additional revenue through the tariff during its 2021/22 financial year, implying that any possible hike implemented on April 1 would be capped at about 15.5%. However, Advocate Matthew Chaskalson, who acted for Eskom, told Justice Joseph Raulinga that any amount less than R23-billion would be financially unsustainable for the utility and potentially “socially disastrous”, as yet more fiscal resources would have to be diverted from other social needs to shore up Eskom’s finances.
South African State-owned nuclear technology company, NTP Radioisotopes (NTP), has received an unqualified audit for a second year in a row. NTP is part of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (better known as Necsa) group, but its finances are managed independently of the group and submitted separately to the Auditor General. NTP manufactures and processes radioisotopes, mainly for medical applications. Three years ago, it was shut down because of regulatory noncompliances, and ceased production for 18 months.
The precise size of the upcoming tariff hike is not yet known as Eskom seeks to recover R23-billion more through the courts. Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer unpacks this complicated issue.
Italian boiler producer and installation company Uniconfort designed, manufactured and installed two boilers at a food processing company in the Ivory Coast in Africa. Through its advanced technology, the food processing company is able to save about €1-millon each year as the two boilers are powered by production waste. Uniconfort designed a plant that is powered by two boilers capable of burning tomato hulls mixed with cashew hulls and local timber. With a short fuel supply chain at almost no cost, using materials which would have to be disposed of as waste, the waste products replace gas which has an extremely high cost in the Ivory Coast.
The international partnership between sawmill technology supplier Newsaw and Italy-based biomass boilers and heating solutions provider Uniconfort has resulted in power solutions, power independence and cost-effective maintenance for boiler plants in Africa. “Since 2004, Newsaw has been watching the power crisis unfold in South Africa, and we have tried to find suppliers that will help us alleviate the power constraints that our clients face. While gasification presents itself as a common solution, it is arduous to work with and difficult to operate,” says Newsaw CEO Louis du Plessis.
A comprehensive boiler maintenance programme not only keeps boilers up and running reliably, but also ensures equipment longevity and improves safety for employees. However, many companies try to save costs on water treatment to reduce operating costs and meet production demands. While this can save money in the short term, it may have the opposite effect in the long run.
Despite the ongoing uncertainty caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic, the mining industry continues to play a crucial role in the global economy, proving how resilient and adaptable it is, says international exhibition organiser Hyve Group. The mining sector has fared reasonably well during the pandemic, with many governments prioritising the reopening of mines as an ‘essential service’, given the economic reliance on the sector. Mining companies, perhaps because of the comparatively high level of scrutiny placed on the industry’s health and safety challenges and its existing health and safety mechanisms, have been quick to act, and have implemented updated operating models to limit the transmission of the Covid-19-causing coronavirus, safeguard employees and mitigate production and supply chain disruptions, as far as possible.
South Africans should brace for power hikes of about 10% this year after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) finalised a court-ordered re-adjudication of Eskom’s previous applications. However, the increase could be materially higher should Eskom prevail in its legal endeavour to have a portion of a R69-billion equity injection added immediately to its allowable revenue. Nersa announced on January 28 that the utility was entitled to recover an additional R6-billion through the electricity tariff following its re-adjudication of three regulatory clearing account (RCA) applications for the 2015 to 2017 financial years and a supplementary tariff application for the 2019 financial year.
Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities Minister David Maynier and Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Minister Anton Bredell have welcomed a decision by the Stellenbosch municipal council to consider generating and using alternate electricity energy supplies to beat load-shedding and become more energy resilient. “Through the Municipal Energy Resilience (MER) Project, the Western Cape government will be supporting the Stellenbosch Municipality in its aim to become energy resilient. The MER project is spearheaded by our Green Economy unit at the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, which is working in collaboration with the Department of Local Government and Provincial Treasury to assist municipalities to take advantage of the new energy regulations, which may include purchasing of energy directly from independent power producers (IPPs),” they say in a joint statement.
Pretoria-based research organisation the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and financial services provider Nedbank have become members of renewable energy lobby organisation the Renewable Energy Solutions for Africa (RES4Africa) Foundation.
Their membership was approved and made official by RES4Africa’s steering committee, following a solid working relationship established between RES4Africa, CSIR and Nedbank over the past few months.
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