Eskom launches three programmes to procure 1 000 MW to bolster capacity

State-owned power utility Eskom on September 19 launched three programmes to procure more than 1 000 MW for the national grid, which will initially focus on generators capable of supplying more than 1 MW to the grid. The aim is to sign the first power supply agreement during the course of the current week and for the power to start flowing through the grid as soon as possible.
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EnergyDrive experiential education unit to teach children about new energy technologies

The EnergyDrive experiential education mobile unit, which will visit more than 3 000 school learners in Mpumalanga during this week, features a solar roof structure, biogas digester, a photovoltaic (PV) panel display unit and a solar hot water display unit and helps to teach learners about these new energy technologies. The walls of the mobile container are made up of a battery bank, PV components, a television and display cupboards, making it an inspirational and experiential teaching aid.
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Eskom seeks R16.9bn for diesel as it ups assumed OCGT load factor to 12%

Eskom is requesting the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to approve diesel costs of R16.9-billion for its upcoming financial year in line with a material upward revision in the assumed load factor of its diesel-fuelled open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) from 5% to 12%. The increase is designed to accommodate a steep reduction in the expected energy availability factor (EAF) from the State-owned utility’s coal-dominant fleet, which has been reduced to 59%.
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Load-shedding to drop to Stage 5, but another unit has tripped

Load-shedding will drop to Stage 5 at midnight as Eskom works overtime on repairs, but it is still battling breakdowns, it said on Monday.  Technicians managed to return four units to service at Camden, Kriel, Kusile and Kendal respectively overnight, but had to take a unit offline at Duvha as it developed a boiler tube leak.  Planned outages are 5 411MW and breakdowns currently amount to 16 326MW, Eskom said. 
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Ramaphosa races home as South African energy crisis escalates

South Africa is teetering on the brink of its most severe power cuts yet, just two months after the government announced emergency measures to try and end intermittent outages, prompting President Cyril Ramaphosa to cut short an overseas trip to oversee the response to the crisis. State power utility Eskom Holdings, which provides the bulk of the nation’s electricity, began cutting 6,000 megawatts from the national grid over the weekend — equivalent to the most on record — to prevent the collapse of the national grid and its executives warned there was a risk the situation could deteriorate further. The rand weakened to a two-year low against the dollar on Monday, while shares of mining and manufacturing companies slumped.
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Rand hits R17.70/$ low as SA suffers Stage 6 load shedding

The rand weakened to R17.70/$ for the first time since 2020 on Monday morning, with investors digesting a deteriorating outlook, as well as the economic fallout for SA of Stage 6 load shedding. In early trade the rand had lost 0.8% to R17.739/$, bringing its year to date to above 11%, while it has now lost about 22% since its year-to-date high of R14.48/$ reached in late March.
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Overseas teams clinch top two spots in 2022 Sasol Solar Challenge

The Brunel Solar Team from the Netherlands has won the 2022 Sasol Solar Challenge, followed by the Agoria team, from Belgium, with the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) team placed third. Brunel won with a distance of 4 228.2 km, with Agoria at 4 189.9 km, and TUT some distance back, at 2 682.4 km.
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