State-owned Eskom reports that two employees have been arrested in relation to alleged fuel theft. The utility notes that, on April 6, the South African Police Services’ (SAPS’s) Illicit Mining and Economic Infrastructure Task Team was observing various fuel trucks in the vicinity of the Kendal power station, when they noticed a fuel tanker approaching from the power station.
As the latest round of Eskom wage negotiations is under way until the end of May, trade unions the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa and Solidarity have confirmed they have rejected Eskom’s offer of a 3.75% increase, owing to it being below the inflation rate of 7.1%. The negotiations will span three rounds, with the first having been held on April 19.
Cable manufacturer Aberdare has launched a new e-commerce platform to enable the online sale of its products. “As we look forward to the digital future, it is imperative that we adapt to ensure we continue to add value to our customers as we also embrace the digital Internet of Things and artificial intelligence era.
A “pendulum swing” from coal to renewable energy will not guarantee baseload grid stability in the foreseeable future, National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) president Mdu Mlaba has said. “It will be completely irresponsible and will plunge the country deeper into the energy crisis,” he warned during a Renewable Energy Dialogue, hosted by the NSBE at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) campus, in Johannesburg, on April 20 – wherein pundits discussed pertinent issues that relate to how South Africa might go about bringing an end to loadshedding.
The University of Johannesburg’s Professor Talita Greyling, a wellbeing economist, has looked at the crisis of loadshedding and has provided statistics to investigate how the continuous blackouts impact South Africans’ emotions. She found that the emotions anger, disgust, fear and sadness almost doubled for the period from April 13 to 16 this year, compared with the same period in 2022. During the period under review, South Africans were faced with Stage 6 loadshedding and rumours that the country could soon face Stage 10 loadshedding.
As President Cyril Ramaphosa considers a proposal to extend the lifespan of some of South Africa’s coal-fired power plants, Eskom chairperson Mpho Makwana has said the country needs to decarbonise its economy rapidly. “We need real change in a short space of time to transform and decarbonise our energy sector, transportation sector, food systems, and built environments,” Makwana wrote in Nedbank’s 2022 annual report, published on Thursday.
The integration of smart technology can ensure reliability and efficiency of the country’s electricity grid. A smart grid system will be able to effectively manage challenges associated with current electricity distribution systems such as maintenance and breakdowns. The life span of electricity distribution networks has significantly been reduced, owing to a lack of investment in grid infrastructure, a lack of maintenance and a reactive approach to infrastructure asset management.
Implementing a smart grid system in South Africa offers a range of benefits for power generators, electric utilities, customers and society, says UP specialist energy industry consultant Dr Willem de Beer. He adds that a smart grid system can also alleviate many of the challenges municipalities encounter.
Energy storage, and how it can be integrated into the energy distribution mix and contribute to electricity stability in South Africa, needs to be considered as a short-term solution, says solar energy equipment supplier ZRW Mechanika MD Kamalluddien Parker. South Africa needs to consider mitigating short-term risks while meeting medium- and long-term challenges to establish a just energy transition that benefits its citizens.
At centrifugal separation solutions provider Alfa Laval’s net-zero launch event in February this year, the company introduced the AlfaNova GL50, the first heat exchanger developed specifically for fuel cell systems. The company highlights that fuel cells will play a vital role in the global transition to green energy.
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