Menar MD pushes back on request to lower prices

Coal and manganese mining group Menar MD Vuslat Bayoğlu has pushed back on a request by Energy and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s special adviser Silas Zimu for domestic coal suppliers to State-owned utility Eskom to lower their prices for the next three years in order for the utility to decrease the tariff increases it has applied for. Speaking at nonprofit organisation FFF Carbon’s 2024 Middelburg Coal Conference in Mpumalanga, on October 17, Bayoğlu acknowledged that there was a need for affordable electricity, but said it was impossible for miners to lower coal prices owing to stringent and expensive new mining safety requirements.
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Eskom announces four executive appointments

Eskom Group CEO Dan Marokane has announced the first four of what will be seven new executive appointments, which he says are being made to address current business challenges and to support the organisation’s strategic initiatives and growth plans. The appointments are all effective from November 1, and include:
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Domestic coal suppliers asked to lower prices to Eskom

Energy and Electricity Minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa’s special adviser Silas Zimu has implored South African coal producers to temporarily sell coal to State-owned utility Eskom at a reduced price for the next three years to offset the proposed 36.15% electricity price increase for direct Eskom customers. In return, coal suppliers would receive extended contracts with the utility.
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First two private utility-scale battery projects reach commercial close

Two projects selected as preferred bidders under South Africa’s inaugural Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP) bidding round have advanced to commercial close and will now enter construction. The projects, named Mogobe BESS and Oasis Mookodi, have a combined capacity of 180 MW/720MWh, and will be connected to transmission substations located near to Kathu in Northern Cape and Vryburg in the North West province respectively.
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Africa’s critical-minerals role highlighted as world moves into ‘Age of Electricity’

With the global energy system moving into the “Age of Electricity”, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has again highlighted the central role of Africa in producing the critical minerals required to support the electrification of energy services previously dominated by fossil fuels, such as transportation. Releasing the ‘World Energy Outlook 2024’ report, IEA executive director Fatih Birol argued that it was becoming increasingly evident that the future of the global energy system was electric.
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Eskom’s tariff application reflects big rise in subsidy support for energy-intensive firms

A policy decision to allow electricity-intensive companies operating in South Africa to enter into negotiated pricing agreements (NPAs) with Eskom is set to contribute 5.7% to any tariff increase approved for implementation on standard-tariff customers on April 1 next year. Eskom has included an application for 10 additional NPAs in its larger submission to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for allowable revenue of R445.6-billion for its 2026 financial year. If approved in full, this would translate to a 36.15% tariff hike next year and raise the standard tariff to 266.78c/kWh from 195.74c/kWh.
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Green Connection welcomes Karpowership deal ending, calls for further details

Nonprofit organisation The Green Connection has welcomed Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa’s announcement this week that the Karpowership deal is officially “dead in the water”. Turkish energy company Karpowership had been seeking to implement three ship-based power projects in South Africa after being named one of the preferred bidders in the government’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.
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As Eskom confirms 2 GW renewables plan, role of tariffs in funding roll-out comes into focus

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has expressed confidence that tariff and non-tariff solutions can be found to ensure that Eskom is able to meet the obligations set by the National Treasury as part of the R256-billion debt-relief package while still allowing the entity to invest in new generation capacity. In a briefing called to mark the fact that, as of October 13, loadshedding had not been implemented for more than 200 days, Ramokgopa expressed support for the State-owned entity’s plan to build 2 GW of new wind and solar PV capacity over the coming two to three years.
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South African steel industry needs stable demand to be import-competitive for grid pylons

A study benchmarking the price of steel transmission grid pylon towers and what South African manufacturers can do to compete with Chinese and Turkish imports showed that “a bit of” stable demand was needed to enable local manufacturers to compete effectively. The ‘Price Benchmarking on Steel Towers in South Africa’ study by manufacturing support organisation the Localisation Support Fund (LSF) was one of three studies done to map out the components of the Eskom and National Transmission Company build programmes and how to get industry to participate, said LSF head of strategy Irshaad Kathrada.
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International partners showcase South African JET projects in Mpumalanga

Denmark, France, Germany and the UK, which are all partner countries supporting South Africa’s just energy transition (JET), have showcased a range of local, provincial and national projects and initiatives that are helping to drive the JET in Mpumalanga and the rest of South Africa. Denmark has 50 years of experience transitioning from an energy system heavily reliant on coal to its current electricity system that is dominated by solar PV and wind power, said energy supply, distribution and consumption organisation Danish Energy Agency deputy director-general Stine Rasmussen.
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