The Industrial Gas Users Association of Southern Africa (IGUA-SA) has welcomed the attention that South Africa’s impending “gas cliff” is finally enjoying from government through Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. The body is cautioning, however, against conflating the recent signing of an agreement between Eskom and Sasol to jointly explore ways to shore-up demand to facilitate the importation of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which Ramokgopa attended, with the “national strategy” or “country plan” required to avert the crisis.
G7-backed push to close coal power plants in emerging markets is facing further delays after a July deadline passed without a deal on the early closure of an Indonesian power plant that would be the first to shut under the initiative.
The push against coal comes under the Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs) with Indonesia, Senegal, South Africa and Vietnam that call for billions of dollars in investments, grants and loans from G7 members, multilateral banks and private lenders to help them transition to low-carbon economies.
The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has formally published Eskom’s much-anticipated and much-criticised allowable revenue application for the coming three years ahead of what is likely to be a vigorous and potentially hostile public consultation phase. The documents have been published on the Nersa website following an assessment of its compliance with the methodology and approval to do so during a special Electricity Subcommittee meeting held on September 23.
The next round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) will be a critical test for the implementation of the COP28 pledge, made by nearly 200 countries in the United Arab Emirates last year, of tripling renewables and doubling energy efficiency by 2030. This finding is contained in a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report, titled ‘From Taking Stock to Taking Action: How to implement the COP28 energy goals’, which was released this week during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses Eskom and Sasol’s collaboration on the potential to introduce liquified natural gas to replace natural gas imports from southern Mozambique, which are currently set to decline sharply from 2027.
Eskom and Sasol have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly explore the potential to introduce liquified natural gas (LNG) to replace natural gas imports from southern Mozambique, which are currently set to decline sharply from 2027. The MoU was signed by Eskom CEO Dan Marokane and Sasol CEO Simon Baloyi at a ceremony held at Eskom’s Megawatt Park, which was attended by Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
A plan to bring electricity to 300-million Africans by 2030, backed by an initial pledge of $30-billion from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, has begun to be implemented with an assessment of the first potential beneficiaries.
Some of the world’s most prominent climate organizations — the Rockefeller Foundation, Global Alliance for People and Planet and Sustainable Energy For All — on Friday announced the formation of a technical assistance facility to examine projects and help secure funding for those that qualify for the program known as Mission 300. The aim is to ultimately raise $90-billion or more from a range of sources.
Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has labelled a mooted increase in Eskom’s electricity tariff of 36% “untenable” and “unaffordable” and has promised to work on an outcome that seeks to strike a “delicate balance” between the needs of consumers and Eskom’s financial sustainability. In his speech during a special Parliamentary debate, the Minister also reaffirmed the need to transition the Eskom tariff toward cost-reflectivity, highlighting the burden on taxpayers should the utility’s finances not be stabilised.
Civil rights organisation AfriForum says the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has applied to the Supreme Court of Appeal in the case related to its implementation of tariff hikes for at least 100 municipalities.
The organisation has been challenging the regulator’s implementation of what it deems to be unlawful and invalid tariff hikes. AfriForum says in its latest statement it will oppose this application in the interest of power consumers across the country.
Information technology company IBM has developed two new interactive models for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) GeoHub, namely the artificial intelligence (AI) model Electricity Access Forecasting, and the statistical geospatial model Clean Energy Equity Index. The new models will be made available for free to the general public through the UNDP GeoHub dashboards, thereby helping users access data and insights to interpret complex clean energy challenges and opportunities, the organisations say.
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