Zambia suffers nationwide power outage, State utility Zesco says

Zambia suffered a nationwide power outage on Sunday following a “power system disturbance”, the southern Africa nation’s state utility Zesco said.

The utility said the incident occurred our 18:15 GMT, leading to loss of power supply that affected the whole country.

It said it was working to resolve the unplanned outage, and power supply restoration was under way.

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PE firm Harith buys African infrastructure fund for R6.5bn

A group of investors led by South African private equity firm Harith General Partners agreed to buy out an infrastructure fund with stakes in assets including Lanseria International Airport and Kelvin Power Station for R6.5-billion. The deal provides an exit opportunity for investors in the first Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund, which includes the continent’s largest pension fund — South Africa’s Government Employees Pension Fund — along with Absa Bank, Old Mutual and others. Harith will team up with Mergence Investment Managers and Zungu Investments
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JUWI South Africa takes the lead on Senegal’s newest mine-site hybrid solar plant

French multinational miner Eramet’s subsidiary Eramet Grande Côte and renewable energy company JUWI Renewable Energies South Africa have closed a €30-million, or R600-million, deal to build a solar PV and battery storage solution for Eramet’s mine in Diogo, Senegal.

The planned 20 MW solar and 11 MWh battery project will meet 20% of the mine’s energy needs and reduce the mine’s carbon emissions by 25 000 t/y, mostly owing to the mine’s reduced reliance on heavy fuel oil.

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Innovation, regulation, cybersecurity dominate 2025 AI trends

With the growing adoption and further development of AI, the technology is continuing to reshape the data centre industry – a reality reflected in the projected 2025 data centre trends determined by critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions provider Vertiv, which it reported at its Powering the AI Era conference, on November 20, in Bologna, Italy. The company’s experts anticipate increased industry innovation and integration to support high-density computing, regulatory scrutiny around AI and an increasing focus on sustainability and cybersecurity efforts.
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NTCSA says independent transmission projects must not reflect as balance-sheet liability

The head of the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) has confirmed that the entity’s board will insist that any independent transmission projects (ITPs) procured in the coming years should not reflect as a liability on the new entity’s balance sheet. However, interim CEO Segomoco Scheppers tells Engineering News that he remains confident that such a framework will be found in the coming months, and that an ITP pilot procurement programme will be launched next year as has been signalled by government.
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Ramokgopa again moots policy interventions to provide relief from Eskom hike

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who is Eskom’s shareholder Minister, has reiterated his opposition to the utility receiving a 36.15% tariff hike next year, while also indicating that various policy interventions are being considered to reduce the increase. Speaking at a briefing in Pretoria that coincided with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) nationwide public hearings into Eskom’s sixth multiyear price determination (MYPD6) application, Ramokgopa expressed confidence that the hike would be “significantly” lower than what Eskom was requesting.
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VW Africa expands solar array at Kariega plant to more than 12 000 panels

Volkswagen Group Africa (VWA) has added an additional 3 MW solar power to its local grid, bringing the total output of renewable energy to 5.9 MW. This is enough energy to power at least 2 000 two-bedroom houses with geysers and electrical appliances.
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Remodelled draft IRP to be unveiled next week for limited public consultation

A remodelled Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity will be released to the public next week and is expected to deviate materially from the heavily criticised draft IRP2023, which was published for public comment in January. Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the revamped document has taken account of changes in the electricity supply industry since the publication of the draft IRP2023, as well as the 4 338 stakeholder comments received on the document, including 136 “substantive” comments.
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Group of nations make COP29 pledge on no new unabated coal power

A total of 25 countries and the EU are pledging to commit to no new unabated coal power in their next round of national climate plans, the latest global pledge aimed at curbing use of the fuel. Signatories to the agreement, outlined during the ongoing COP29 climate talks in Baku, include Canada, the UK and Germany, according to a statement published Wednesday. China and India, the world’s largest coal consuming nations, aren’t among backers so far, and neither is the US.
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Zimbabwe power tariff hike sparks 3 000 MW of energy investments

Zimbabwe’s decision to adopt tariffs that reflect costs has sparked a wave of investments in the energy sector that will help ease its power crisis. Since the switch in December last year, energy investments have sharply increased with 3 000 MW of projects currently under development, according to Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority chairperson Sydney Gata.
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