Nonprofit association the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG) says it broadly welcomes the pronouncements made by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) last week. The association says it is particularly encouraged by the drive and retained focus demonstrated by Ramaphosa on the Energy Action Plan first outlined in July last year, which generally aligns with the EIUG’s views on these matters.
Business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) says neither the creation of a new post for an Electricity Minister, nor the declaration of a state of disaster, as announced during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address last week, provide a clear opportunity for business to partner to relieve the energy crisis. “It is extremely difficult for many businesses to make investments in the current environment. Loadshedding is the most obvious challenge,” says BLSA CEO Busi Mavuso.
UK nuclear fusion power company Tokamak Energy and the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA, the government agency responsible for British nuclear fusion energy research and development) have jointly announced that the company is to build its prototype spherical tokamak, designated ST80-HTS, at the UK Fusion Cluster. The UK Fusion Cluster is located on the UKAEA’s Culham Campus, in Oxfordshire, in England. Culham is also the site of the Joint European Torus fusion experiment, which has made major …
South Africa’s Eskom, already named as the world’s biggest sulphur dioxide emitter, is seeking approval to release more of the pollutant linked to ailments ranging from asthma to heart attacks. The move is part of an attempt by the company to reduce the level of temporary blackouts the nation is facing as a result of its inability to meet demand.
Energy efficiency technology company Plentify CEO and co-founder Jon Kornik believes the solution to South Africa’s energy crisis goes beyond just bringing an end to loadshedding. Instead, he says, the focus should be on enabling the country to transition to a clean, affordable and reliable energy system.
The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) is conducting a loadshedding impact assessment to assist the organisation in its advocacy initiatives on energy.
“South Africa’s energy crisis is having devastating consequences for the manufacturing sector. As part of quantifying this impact on the metals and engineering sector, Seifsa is conducting a short survey,” the organisation says.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) is seeking public comment on electricity procurement determinations received from Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe that are intended to open the way for Eskom to procure new emergency and cross-border capacity. Mantashe has granted Eskom an exemption from the Electricity Regulations on New Generation Capacity to proceed with all three procurement programmes, which have been named the cross-border procurement programme, the loadshedding reduction programme and the emergency procurement programme respectively.
Stage 4 loadshedding will continue from 16:00 on Friday until 05:00 on Saturday morning. It will be downgraded to Stage 3 from 05:00 on Saturday until 05:00 on Sunday, after which it will again be reduced to Stage 2 until 16:00 on Sunday. Stage 3 will be implemented from 16:00 on Sunday until 05:00 on Monday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SoNA) was delivered amid severe crises across critical economic and social spheres in South Africa, with industry respondents recognising both the good and the bad ideas contained in government’s plans.
Business Unity South Africa (Busa), firstly, expressed concern about the President likening the Covid-19 crisis to that of the energy crisis and saying that the nation will emerge resilient and ever hopeful, when in fact the energy crisis is not a result of natural disaster, but of poor governance and a lack of decisive leadership.
The Presidency’s Rudi Dicks, who also heads the National Energy Crisis Committee (NECOM) secretariat, believes the controversial decision to classify the electricity crisis a National State of Disaster will support an acceleration of the implementation of the Energy Action Plan and ensure greater security of electricity assets currently exposed to crime, vandalism and sabotage. Speaking after President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed in his State of the Nation Address that the ‘Impact of the Severe Electricity Supply Constraint’ had been declared a disaster with immediate effect and that an Electricity Minister would be appointed “to assume full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the electricity crisis response”, Dicks argued in favour of the more “centralised” approach being pursued.
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