Emergency five-year power procurement awaiting Eskom board approval

A procurement and funding strategy empowering Eskom to proceed with a five-year emergency procurement programme has been finalised and will be presented to the State-owned utility’s board for approval during May. National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) secretariat head Rudi Dicks said on Friday that a Ministerial determination opening the way for the Load Shedding Reduction Programme (LSRP) had  been published by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and was currently awaiting the concurrence of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).
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Ramokgopa says ‘frank’ talks held with JETP partners on possible coal decommissioning delay

Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa reports that “open and frank” discussions have been held with those countries that have agreed to extended $8.5-billion in concessional funding to support South Africa’s transition from coal to renewables about the possibility of delaying the decommissioning of certain coal-fired power stations in light of ongoing loadshedding. Speaking during a briefing on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan, Ramokgopa reported that meetings with representatives of the International Partners Group (IPG) that make up the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) had included himself, as well as Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and Forestry Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy.
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Karpowership permitted to resubmit Richards Bay bid

Karpowership secured permission from South Africa’s environment department to refile an application to moor a ship-mounted power plant in the eastern port of Richards Bay as the company’s stalled plans to affect a 1 220 MW electricity supply contract regains momentum. The Turkish company withdrew its submission to deploy the 450 MW plant earlier this year after it faced a complaint that it hadn’t notified a competitor, which had its own plans for the port. On Wednesday, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment dismissed a complaint by a nonprofit against Karpowership’s plan to moor a similar plant at Saldanha on South Africa’s west coast.
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Loadshedding will be reduced to Stages 3 and 4 over the weekend

Power utility Eskom says that, as a result of lower weekend demand and the return to service of some generating units, Stage 3 and 4 loadshedding will be implemented this weekend. Since yesterday morning, a generating unit each at Hendrina, Lethabo and Tutuka power stations have returned to service.
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Treasury engages municipalities on debt owed to Eskom

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the longstanding and growing problem of municipalities’ outstanding debt to power utility Eskom: the  National Treasury’s engagement with municipalities on a scheme to potentially write off their debt to Eskom; and the conditions that may be placed on municipalities wanting to participate in the scheme.
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Energy access in Africa a key topic at this year’s Enlit Africa

The upcoming Enlit Africa conference and expo will address the challenges of access to energy in Africa. The conference will be held over three days on May 16 to 18.

The keynote session on day two of the conference will focus on Africa’s energy transition and the importance of ensuring that energy access is at the core of that shift.

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Event to focus on JET

With this year’s Enlit Africa event themed ‘The Multi-dimensional, multi-sectoral energy transition’, Enlit Africa content head Claire Volkwyn says this was the natural progression following last year’s theme of collaboration.
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Diverse approach needed to solve energy crisis

As a vast continent, with 54 countries and more than 1 000 languages, Africa’s approach to electrification and industrialisation should be both intricate and collaborative, says Frost & Sullivan Africa partner and CEO Hendrik Malan.
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Solar trailers transform industry

Equipped with solar panels that power various farming equipment, automation company Iritron’s off-grid solar trailers are especially useful for small-scale farmers who do not have access to grid power at all times. “Solar trailers are a game-changer for small farmers. They provide a reliable source of power that farmers can use to irrigate their crops, run their borehole pumps and power other equipment such as incubators,” says Iritron divisional manager Gerhard Greeff.
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