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.
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