City Power announces R401m short-term loadshedding mitigation plan

In what could be her last address as City of Johannesburg (CoJ) mayor, since she faces a vote of no confidence, Mpho Phalatse has announced City Power’s ‘Sustainable Energy Strategy’, which it has published with the aim of attracting funding, to help reduce the severity of loadshedding in the city.
She says the city has been on a path towards reducing its reliance on Eskom in earnest since May last year, following the Joburg Energy Indaba.
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Kearney appoints energy sector veteran Reddy as equity partner

Management consulting firm Kearney has appointed energy specialist Prashaen Reddy as an equity partner.

A business leader with over 13 years of experience in consulting, including six years focused on strategy and transformation in key sectors like energy, mining and chemicals, Reddy’s participatory, collaborative approach to macroeconomic challenges has earned him widespread acclaim.

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Sugar industry warns of R723m in loadshedding-induced losses for this year

Industry body SA Canegrowers has appealed to government to implement measures to mitigate the impact of loadshedding on sugarcane growers, warning that its data shows that the South African sugar industry is set to lose R723-million this year as a result of loadshedding. “With milling giant Tongaat Hulett in business rescue and the destructive Health Promotion Levy [also known as the sugar tax] already hampering the industry, these losses are potentially catastrophic for growers and the industry’s workers,” it states.
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Eskom’s debt plan raises hopes for investors facing long wait for relief

High hopes that South Africa’s government will next month lay out plans to take on a majority of the debt owed by beleaguered state utility Eskom have lifted the company’s bonds, providing some relief to investors facing a long and uncertain wait. South Africa has been struggling for years to overhaul its state-power company which is plagued by corruption and mismanagement and reeling under a R400-billion debt pile.
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Loadshedding threatens South Africa’s platinum supply

South Africa’s worst ever power blackouts are threatening platinum and palladium supplies in the top miner, both now and in the years ahead. Outages last year curbed output of the metals, and the power crisis that’s crimping the economy has worsened in recent months. The nation’s platinum-group metals production will likely fall this year, according to Impala Platinum.
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Shorter contracts should get Karpowerships past the finish line – Mantashe

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe says cutting the proposed contract periods with Karpowership from 20 years to 10 years could help government realise its ambitions to procure energy urgently from the floating power stations. Mantashe was speaking at an ANC Energy Dialogue held in Johannesburg on Tuesday, during which Eskom announced that Stages 4 and 5 load shedding would be implemented until Sunday.
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Eskom weighs nuclear fuel impact after US-South Africa pact ends

Power utility Eskom is examining how the suspension of a pact that enables it to import nuclear fuel components from the US will affect its sole atomic plant. The Agreement for Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy between the US and South Africa expired on December 4. That resulted in Westinghouse Electric Co losing its licence from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to export fuel-assembly components to Eskom’s Koeberg plant near Cape Town.
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IPP Office to launch 513 MW battery storage auction soon

The Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office has confirmed it will soon launch a bid window round for 513 MW of battery storage capacity and hopes to procure another 1 200 MW later this year. IPP Office head Bernard Magoro confirmed during a webinar hosted by Creamer Media and titled ‘South Africa’s Energy Outlook for 2023’, that the country could see a total 1 700 MW of battery storage procured in 2023.
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Congo LNG facility to be developed by Expro for Eni

Energy services provider Expro has entered into a long-term production solutions contract with Eni Congo, a subsidiary of multinational energy company Eni, for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) pretreatment facility in the Republic of Congo. The ten-year contract is expected to generate more than $300-million of revenue for Expro.
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Parliament Committes to visit Eskom amid loadshedding

The portfolio committees on Public Enterprises, and Mineral Resources and Energy and the Select Committee on Public Enterprises and Communication will, on Thursday and Friday, meet various Eskom stakeholders to assess efforts to resolve the crippling energy crisis facing the country. Eskom announced earlier this week that loadshedding will remain at Stage 4 from 16:00 to 05:00 every day, with Stage 3 implemented from 05:00 to 16:00 during the day until further notice.   The committees felt that constant loadshedding was adverse impacting the country and exacerbating its socioeconomic challenges. The meeting will address the security of electricity supply, the operational state of all power stations and governance at Eskom. Solutions to the current loadshedding, as well as alleged sabotage and theft at power stations, will also be addressed at the meeting.
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