Research by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has indicated that the energy availability factor (EAF) of State-owned power utility Eskom has worsened, with this manifesting in worsening loadshedding. Speaking during a loadshedding statistics and water cuts briefing on February 22, CSIR Energy Systems Energy Centre principal researcher Warrick Pierce said the primary reason for this research being undertaken was to inform and assist decision makers to make smarter choices.
To limit the impact of the energy crisis on food prices, government has decided to extend a diesel fuel levy refund to manufacturers of foodstuffs for a period of two years, effective from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2025. This, alongside an announcement of no increase in the general fuel levy, was announced during the National Budget speech for the 2023/24 financial year, which was delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on February 22.
Conditions linked to R254bn Eskom debt relief may lead to concessioning of coal plants The R254-billion Eskom debt-relief package unveiled by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his 2023 Budget includes a sweeping set of conditions that will restrict the State-owned utility’s capital expenditure to transmission- and distribution-related investments and could also result in coal-fired power stations being concessioned to private operators.
South Africa’s 2023 Budget includes tax incentives worth R9-billion to support businesses and households invest in renewable energy, including rooftop solar, in a bid to offset the impact of intensifying power cuts. In addition, the National Treasury announced that it would amend the bounce-back loan scheme, initially set up to support the recovery of businesses from the Covid-19 pandemic, to help address energy-related constraints.
Niche media company Epic Outdoor this month launched South Africa’s largest-ever, solar-powered digital billboard site on the N1 highway. Tasneem Bulbulia tells us more.
The City of Cape Town is pulling out all the stops to protect residents in the event Eskom implements Stage 8 loadshedding. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said during Stage 8 loadshedding, half the metro would be left without power at any given time – at least 12 hours a day.
South Africa’s struggling State-owned utility Eskom Holdings appears to have reached an unprecedented level of power cuts, indicated late Tuesday by the company spokesman. The company cut 7 045 MW from the grid, a practice locally referred to as loadshedding, in order to keep the grid from a total collapse, Sikonathi Mantshantsha said in a post on Twitter. While that would be the deepest level of outage on record, so-called Stage 7 power cuts were not formally announced on Eskom’s schedule. The most recent announcement said the utility is implementing Stage 6, where it removes 6 000 MW.
Ahead of the national budget, to be tabled on February 22, the Small Business Institute (SBI) has called on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to support small businesses and their employees, households and families who are facing high costs of living and experiencing negative impacts as a result of loadshedding.
SBI CEO John Dludlu says the institute appeals to Godongwana to explain how government will support South Africans from the effects of an 18% electricity tariff increase, which was granted by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa to Eskom.
Sasol CEO Fleetwood Grobler announced on Tuesday that the JSE-listed group had signed a total of five power purchase agreements (PPAs) in South Africa to date, increasing the company’s procurement of renewable energy for its South African operations to 550 MW. He added that further agreements would be concluded this year in line with its goal of procuring 1 200 MW of renewable electricity by 2030.
Coal quality and mining productivity problems continue to negatively affect production at Sasol’s Secunda Operations, in Mpumalanga, where only between 6.6-million tons and 6.9-million tons will be produced this financial year. Such output is well below both the group’s initial production guidance for the year of between 7-million and 7.2-million tons, as well as historical output levels of better than 7.5-million tons.
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