Archive for year: 2021

Minerals Council South Africa member companies could deliver up to 3 900 MW of renewable energy projects worth an estimated R60-billion, which, if built, would relieve pressure on State-owned power utility Eskom and go a long way towards meeting the industry’s commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Eskom CEO Andre De Ruyter told a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee last week that the utility needs an additional 4 000 MW to 6 000 MW of generating capacity to conduct an effective and sustainable reliability maintenance programme on its existing fleet of power stations without disrupting national electricity supply.

South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), the biggest investor in Eskom Holdings debt, said there were significant hurdles to a proposal that its bonds be converted to equity to help rescue the struggling power monopoly. The initiative, which has been backed by the country’s biggest labor unions, was first examined by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which manages most of the pension fund’s investments, but the GEPF has not been formally approached about a potential swap, its investment chief said.

As Eskom Holdings prepares to talk to investors about plans to address a multibillion-dollar debt load, the performance of the company’s bonds already suggests some skepticism from bondholders. The yield premium of Eskom’s 2028 dollar bonds without a government guarantee over those with state backing has widened almost 50 basis points since the beginning of October to the most in four months. The state-owned electricity company has 402 billion rand ($26 billion) of debt, of which about 70% is guaranteed by the government.

The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) Business School has introduced a new stream in its existing Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Management in the field of Energy Leadership, which offers a specialisation in electricity. Additionally, the South African-German Energy Programme and Capacitates for the Energy Transition (SAGEN-CET), a programme implemented by German development agency GIZ, is offering a limited number of bursaries for students who choose the electricity stream course as part of their PGDip at Wits Business School.

South Africa’s position in driving the continent’s transition to renewable energy has been confirmed with the launch of the first ever Solar Power Africa trade show. Organised by Messe Frankfurt, in partnership with the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA), Solar Power Africa 2022 is the first event of its kind dedicated solely to solar power and energy storage and is expected to attract over 100 exhibitors.