Lesufi says Gauteng government ready to migrate poor away from relying on Eskom’s grid

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has said the time has come to help the poor migrate away from relying on national power utility Eskom for their power needs. “The majority of the malls in our province have migrated out of the Eskom grid. Many families have migrated out of the Eskom grid, and many institutions are following. But what about the poor, who can’t afford, who also deserve to be supported? We are ready to migrate them and provide them with the necessary support within the shortest possible time,” he said at the inaugural Gauteng Energy Crisis Response Expo, in Johannesburg, on February 16.
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Minister of Electricity’s ‘undivided attention’ to be on loadshedding crisis

President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved to defend the proposed appointment of a new Minister of Electricity in the Presidency, amid concern that the appointee would have overlapping responsibilities with both the energy and public enterprises ministers that could result in “turf wars”. In his response to the debate on the State of the Nation Address, during which opposition parties slammed the proposed new ministerial post as both unnecessary and expensive, Ramaphosa said the energy crisis required effective coordination across several departments and public entities, which would be provided by the new Minister.
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Cape Town set to ease power cuts further as city gears up to issue first tender

As loadshedding becomes the norm, the City of Cape Town is preparing to launch a 500MW tender for dispatchable power in the coming weeks, and it’s looking into shorter contracts with producers. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced the upcoming tender at the city’s first council meeting a few weeks ago. The tender for dispatchable power – which can be turned on and off as and when needed – is technology agnostic. This means the city is open to gas-to-power solutions and battery storage. The City of Johannesburg late last year also issued a request for proposals from various Independent Power Producers to limit loadshedding. The City of Johannesburg, governed by Mpho Phalatse at the time, is also technology agnostic when it comes to solving the power crisis and said it is open to solar, battery storage, waste-to-energy and gas-to-power.
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Outa brings urgent application against electricity State of Disaster

Nonprofit the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse is bringing an urgent application against the government aimed at overturning the National State of Disaster over the electricity crisis.  The application was lodged in the Pretoria High Court on February 16.
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Gold mines can play a key role in establishing infrastructure for transition to renewables

Mining companies are developing and deploying strategies to reduce climate-related risks in the locations where mines are situated, and the ability for gold mines to self-generate power on a practical scale from solar plants is helping to create a viable source of skills and infrastructure that will benefit other sectors, says market development organisation World Gold Council (WGC) CFO Terry Heymann. “We have seen this in several locations across Africa and beyond. In seeking to decarbonise their own operations, many WGC members have been first movers in bringing clean energy to countries and locations where it would otherwise not have been present or affordable. This is a trend that will continue to grow,” he states.
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