Industry organisation the South Africa Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has welcomed State-owned utility Eskom’s announcement, during the Transmission Development Plan (TDP) public forum on October 27, that about 53 GW of new additional generation capacity is expected to be added to the grid up to 2032. “This far exceeds the 30 GW proposed in the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 2019, which once again illustrates the importance of updating the IRP to reflect the new realities of the energy sector taking into account the deterioration of the energy availability factor (EAF) of Eskom’s existing coal-fired power plants,” SAWEA emphasises.
German instrumentation and control company Vega opened its new 6 000 m2 Africa head office and warehouse, in Lanseria, on October 31, to enhance service in the country, as well as expand services and products into Southern and Central Africa.

Having previously occupied a 1 000 m2 Africa head office and warehouse in Honeydew from 2012 until this year, MD Frikkie Streicher says the company, experiencing significant growth over the past five to six years, has a long-term vision for the new building, having been allocated land with plenty of extra space – 15 000 m2 in total – so that the company can expand, as and when the need arises.

Moody’s Investors Service improved its outlook on Eskom Holdings’s debt ratings to positive after South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced last week the government could take over a substantial portion of the power company’s debt. Moody’s boosted the outlook from negative, signaling that the next ratings action may now be an upgrade instead of another downgrade. It affirmed the utility’s long-term corporate family rating at Caa1, seven levels below investment grade.