Solar PV firm fined R200 000 for allegedly colluding in tenders

A Gauteng-based solar PV supplier and installer has agreed to pay a R200 000 administrative penalty after being accused of collusion in public tenders. The Competition Commission, following an investigation, found that the firm, Pacific Solar, had colluded with another service provider Nert Technologies, in preparing and pricing their bids for tenders from the Council for Geoscience and The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).
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Ramokgopa in conversation with Karpowership on five- to ten-year contracts

South Africa’s Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is having discussions with Karpowership about the potential for introducing the floating gas-to-power plants under a power purchase agreement (PPA) with terms of between five and ten years, instead of 20 years. In providing an update on the reforms being pursued under Operation Vulindlela, including various electricity reforms, project management unit head Rudi Dicks reported that powerships were not among the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) projects expected to progress to financial close in the coming months.
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Eskom turns to EPC contracting as it seeks to pick up yearly powerline roll-out pace to 1 500 km

Eskom’s Transmission Division, which will form part of the separated National Transmission Company South Africa once established later this year, will begin relying more heavily on the engineer, procure and construct (EPC) contracting model as it seeks to accelerate the pace at which transmission infrastructure is built in a context where the lack of grid has become a key impediment to the injection of new generation capacity. In an address to suppliers, MD Segomoco Scheppers reported that South Africa needed to add more than 1 500 km of new transmission lines yearly between now and 2032 to ensure that the infrastructure was in place to facilitate the addition of more than 50 GW of new generation capacity, mostly in the form of variable renewables, over the period.
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76 hospitals already exempt from loadshedding, says Gordhan

The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has already initiated efforts, in collaboration with the Department of Health and State-owned utility Eskom, to identify 213 hospitals for exclusion from loadshedding to ensure that they have continuous power supply, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has said. Of the 213 hospitals, 76 have already been excluded from loadshedding, while work to exempt a further 46 is under way, he said in a May 29 media statement.
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Nersa concurs with Eskom’s planned procurement of 344 MW of solar PV, battery storage capacity

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), at its May 25 meeting, concurred with the draft ministerial determination for the procurement of 344.5 MW of new generation capacity from solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage by State-owned Eskom. The regulator concurred with the procurement of 75 MW of new generation capacity from solar PV at the Lethabo power station, in the Free State, and 19.5 MW of solar PV at Sere Wind Farm, in the Western Cape
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Cape Town eyes cheaper feed-in meters to cut cost of selling power back to the grid

Plans are afoot for the City of Cape Town to slash the cost of a specialised meter by more than half, so that customers can use it to feed power back to the municipal grid. This is according to Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, who on Friday was speaking at Daily Maverick’s annual event, The Gathering.
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Cape Town’s solar PV applications reach record levels

The appetite for rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) installations has reached record levels in Cape Town, with March now the best month on record for new applications to install solar energy, says Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. This comes as residents look to capitalise on incentive programmes to help end load-shedding over time. 
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Mantashe, regulator lose court bid against anti-nuclear activist

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) have lost a court bid concerning an anti-nuclear activist. In January this year, the Western Cape High Court ruled that the minister’s decision to fire anti-nuclear activist Peter Becker from the board of SA’s nuclear safety regulator was unlawful. 
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Limited nature of Electricity Minister’s new powers confirmed by Presidency

The Presidency insists that the transfer of responsibility for Section 34(1) of the Electricity Regulation Act to Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa “provides the Minister with a powerful tool to address South Africa’s current energy shortfall, by directing the actions that are required to build new generation capacity”. However, it has also confirmed that these powers effectively enable him only to issue a determination that new generation capacity is needed in order to ensure security of energy supply.

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SAFCEI critical of govt’s new nuclear procurement plans

Multifaith environmental justice organisation, South African Faith Communities Environment Institute (SAFCEI), has decried the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s (DMRE’s) plans to procure more nuclear power as a step in the wrong direction. The organisation has cited the long build times and lengthy over-runs as ineffective in urgently dealing with the energy crisis the country is facing.
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