Ringfencing revenue for the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) is regarded as a crucial short-term step for ensuring that the newly operationalised Eskom Holdings subsidiary is placed on a firmer financial footing to begin dealing with the estimated R390-billion grid infrastructure backlog. However, complete financial and operational unbundling from Eskom, together with further tariff reform, is still required to fully derisk the business and position it to play its central role in facilitating South Africa’s transition to an electricity system that does not undermine the country’s export competitiveness as key trading partners begin implementing carbon taxes.
The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has expressed concern about the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) decision to reject Eskom’s application to reserve grid capacity for the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
While the association acknowledges that there are regulatory complexities involved with preserving grid capacity for these projects, there are also implications of Nersa’s decision for the wind energy sector and the broader renewable energy landscape in South Africa.
Johannesburg, billed as Africa’s richest city because of its concentration of businesses and millionaires, needs R221-billion to catch up on maintenance and overdue upgrades across its collapsing road, power and water networks. The city council discussed the shortfall late last month and detailed it in documents seen by Bloomberg. It comes at a time when regular power outages — the result of distribution-network breakdowns — hit large swathes of Johannesburg. Officials leave potholes unattended for months and parts of the city had no water for as long as 11 days in March.
JSE-listed real estate investment trust Growthpoint Properties has announced a new energy benefit scheme called e-CO2, which it will roll out at ten of its properties in Sandton.
This marks a next step in the company’s rollout of its renewable energy transition and will involve providing green energy at its office buildings through wheeling, reducing carbon footprints and generating renewable energy certificates (RECs) for tenants using the latest blockchain technology.
Eskom has released the names to Engineering News of the five transformer companies appointed to a panel of suppliers that will compete for upcoming contracts for a total of 101 large-scale transformers to be installed as part of the National Transmission Company South Africa’s (NTCSA’s) Transmission Development Plan (TDP). Ahead of the NTCSA’s operationalisation on July 1, Eskom announced in late June that the suppliers had been selected following an open tender issued in March 2023, but did not immediately identify the companies, saying only that they were “local with an international footprint”.
National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) interim CEO Segomoco Scheppers has confirmed that the newly operationalised entity is making an allowable revenue application to the regulator that is distinct from that of Eskom as it seeks to secure the finances it requires for its operations and to implement its ambitious roll-out of new grid infrastructure. Speaking at an event co-hosted by the Powerline and Substation Association and the South African independent Power Producer Association, Scheppers argued that the newly separated entity had to be placed on a sound financial footing by securing the revenue required to run, maintain and expand the network.
The Johannesburg City Council this week approved the turnaround strategies for City Power Johannesburg and Johannesburg Water, as it aims to bolster essential municipal services across the city. The strategies will now be submitted to the National Treasury in compliance with regulatory requirements.
Power and energy expert Vally Padayachee has emphasised the untapped potential and critical importance of optimising the country’s grid system, especially now as it transforms into a high-value smart grid that incorporates smart technologies and serves as a “backup” for renewable-energy power. Padayachee, a former senior executive at City Power, in Johannesburg, and a former executive manager at Eskom, highlights, in an opinion article sent to Engineering News, the need for critical thinking, strategic investment, modernisation and a shift in thinking to address the challenges facing the South African energy landscape.
An estimated 3.3-million new, direct jobs could be created across 12 green subsectors in Africa by 2030, a report published by staffing specialist company Shortlist and development agency FSD Africa, with analysis from consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has found. The ‘Forecasting Green Jobs in Africa’ report shows that the majority of these new jobs will be created in the renewable-energy sector, particularly in the solar industry.
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