Old Mutual Fund says South Africa needs gas as a transition fuel

A key funder of South Africa’s renewable energy drive is backing natural gas as the fuel needed to help the country bridge the transition from coal power generation to the use of wind and solar. Old Mutual Ltd.’s African Infrastructure Investment Managers will consider funding companies that compete for the right to produce 3,000 megawatts of electricity from gas in an upcoming bid round planned by the government, said Vuyo Ntoi, co-managing director of the $2-billion fund.
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Energy analysts question why ‘emergency’ powerships will stay until 2042

A project to quickly ease South Africa’s electricity supply constraints by using floating powerships has come under fire by energy analysts, who have questioned why agreements will lock SA into using the ships until 2042.   Earlier this month Minister of Energy Gwede Mantashe announced the names of the eight preferred bidders for SA’s “Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme” – an initiative to fast-track new power production to cut down on load shedding and save on diesel costs. 
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Eskom taking contingency steps after R7.3bn Oracle dispute

Eskom Holdings has taken steps to protect its operations from disruptions after a contractual dispute with Oracle Corp.’s South African unit put its technical support services at risk. The state power utility confirmed on Monday that it’s involved in the disagreement in which Oracle initially claimed Eskom underpaid it by about R7.3-billion ($500 million). While the amount was later reduced between the parties, Oracle rejected Eskom’s settlement offer of 166 million rand and threatened to terminate its services, the power utility said in an emailed statement.
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Egypt says latest round of GERD talks are ‘last chance’ before second dam filling

The latest meeting between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam may be the last chance to re-launch talks before it is filled for the second year in a row, Egypt said in a statement on Sunday. The meeting concludes on Monday in Kinshasa. Previous attempts at reaching agreement over the giant dam that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile have ended in deadlock.
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