Eskom welcomes 20-year jail sentence for two fraudsters

State-owned power utility Eskom said its efforts to root out corruption and fraud gained a significant boost when the Palm Ridge Commercial Crimes Court this week sentenced a former Eskom employee and a supplier to an effective 20 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty on 53 counts of fraud and theft that cost Eskom R35-million. Former Eskom financial controller Mosai Barnard Moraka and Eskom service provider Victor Vilosi Tshabalala stole the money through a corrupt scam between January 2016 and September 2018 by creating fictitious invoices and payment for services not rendered by Meagra Transportation, a company owned by Tshabalala.
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Report urges South Africa to push pause on gas-to-power so risks and alternatives can be fully …

A new report on the role of gas in South Africa’s electricity system argues that it would be a “costly mistake” to pursue large gas-to-power investments in light of a shrinking role for gas in the power sector and improving prospects for greener alternatives. Published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the report suggests that a pause be placed on any gas-to-power development until at least 2030. This, given its analysis showing that gas supply to the electricity industry will be unnecessary until 2035, by which date the penetration of variable renewable energy should be such that system balancing would be required.
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Signing of risk mitigation power deals ‘postponed’

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has confirmed the “postponement” of the signing of power purchase agreements (PPAs) for projects selected as part of the controversial Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP). A signing ceremony was expected to take place in Pretoria on Thursday March 31; the already delayed deadline for the projects to reach financial close.
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