South Africa’s government is concerned about the impact that power outages had on the economy in the second quarter, as the nation’s statistics agency prepares to release data for the three-month period. “I am worried about tomorrow’s stats,” Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele told reporters Monday at the start of a cabinet strategic-planning meeting in Pretoria, the capital. “There has been huge load-shedding and we don’t know how it has impacted the economy,” he said, using the local term for scheduled blackouts.
State-owned electricity utility Eskom has issued a tender seeking service providers for the automation of spares- and warehouse-management processes across its generation division, which has been prone to incidents of theft. Eskom issued a request for proposals for a Barcoding and Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, solution within Eskom’s Generation warehouses with a closing date of September 19.
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel insists that South Africa’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) Roadmap is taking shape amid warnings that, absent urgent government decisions on the future support framework, the domestic automotive manufacturing sector is at serious risk. He has also indicated that the NEV support framework would seek to use and build on the architecture in place under the second phase of the Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP2) and would be production- rather than consumption-led.
The President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, has ordered that the Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organisation (GNPPO) be transferred from the Ministry of Energy to the Office of the President, “World Nuclear News” has reported. This was, he said in his statement, “to enhance proper coordination among the key institutions already established”. In 2008, the then Ghanaian government decided that nuclear power should form part of the country’s future energy mix. This led to the formation of the GNPPO in 2012, and in 2013 the country formally submitted a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), declaring its intention of developing a peaceful nuclear energy programme.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has published for public comment proposed changes to South Africa’s electricity regulations, exempting distributed generation facilities of any size from applying to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for a licence. The majority of the exempted facilities will still need to be registered with Nersa and will have to comply with either transmission or distribution codes.
Global chemicals and energy company Sasol and Japanese trading group Itochu have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly study and develop the market and supply chain for green ammonia, with a focus on its use as a bunkering fuel and for power generation. The parties will also evaluate Itochu’s potential involvement and participation in Sasol’s green ammonia export-oriented projects – including product offtake – as well as financial support from Japan for studies and grants relating to green ammonia projects in South Africa.
Business community Sakeliga has sent a letter of demand to State-owned Eskom, indicating that any attempt to cut the supply of electricity to the Tshwane metro will lead to urgent litigation. Sakeliga’s letter follows repeated threats made since August 23 by Eskom that the beleaguered utility might cut all electricity supply to Tshwane because of the metropolitan municipality’s overdue debt of R1.6-billion. This would include cutting electricity provision to those businesses and residents who dutifully pay their utility bills every month. Sakeliga said on September 2 that, while it supports legal and rational debt recovery by Eskom, it does not condone such wholesale threats that are both illegal and irrational.
Helium and domestic natural gas producer Renergen completed the development of Phase 1 of its Virginia Gas Project in July and has started with commercial operation. The project comprises the development of 52 km of gas assemblage pipeline and cryogenic liquefaction processing facilities located across Welkom, Virginia and Theunissen, in the Free State.
Following its recent and substantial oil and gas discoveries, Senegal is preparing to ensure that its vast natural gas resources help meet future electricity demand and put an end to the excessive electricity prices undermining its economy. Senegal’s domestic gas reserves will mainly be used to produce electricity. Authorities expect that domestic gas infrastructure projects will come online between 2025 and 2026, provided there is no delay, says Wärtsilä senior analyst Joonatan Huhdanmäki.
Research consultancy Birguid has announced its official involvement in conducting research for the Luiperd-Brulpadda project, which is expected to produce its first gas by the end of 2025. The project entails the development of the Luiperd and Brulpadda gas condensate fields on Block 11B/12B of the Outeniqua basin, 175 km off the shore of the southern coast of South Africa.
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