Eskom has announced that Dan Marokane – who was named group CEO on December 8, almost a full year after André de Ruyter formally resigned – will assume office on March 1, 2024. Previously, Eskom indicated that Marokane would join the organisation no later than March 31, 2024, so as to allow him time to finalise his existing responsibilities.
The sheer urgency of addressing energy insecurity in Africa demands that a reliable grid is prioritised first and other energy concerns, such as transitioning to renewable-energy sources, second, says energy advocacy group African Energy Chamber executive chairperson NJ Ayuk. Ayuk critiques western leaders that often urge African nations to make a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable-energy sources, stating “they seem to think that African nations can switch to renewable-power sources fairly easily, as if a good energy infrastructure was already in place”.
The Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill will accelerate South Africa’s shift towards a decentralised, modern, and low-carbon energy system, says industry association Energy Council of South Africa CEO James Mackay. This shift will enable vital reforms that will help end loadshedding as well as accelerate the Just Energy Transition – which has the potential to unlock economic growth and job creation, he elaborates. The Energy Council of South Africa addressed the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy regarding the critical importance of passing the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill, in December last year.
Electromechanical equipment manufacturer ACTOM High Voltage Equipment, a division of the ACTOM Group, is preparing to participate in State-owned electricity utility Eskom’s Transmission Development Plan (TDP). South Africa’s electricity landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the introduction of new generation capacity from independent power producers (IPPs), including the planned integration of renewable energy sources, according to ACTOM High Voltage.
Loadshedding is expected to continue in 2024, possibly at even higher levels than those of 2023, says tertiary institute Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES) chief engineer Monique le Roux. State-owned power utility Eskom struggled to improve its energy availability factor (EAF) throughout 2023, with the EAF reaching only the same levels as those achieved towards the end of 2022.
Following global trends, discussions in South Africa on hydrogen, its production and use have gained momentum, although actual implementation remains limited, says power technology provider Cummins Africa and Middle East hydrogen and fuel cell business director Alan Zhao. Aligned with other countries, South Africa has been exploring hydrogen as a potential solution for power generation and mobility applications.
Global energy business Puma Energy has acquired a 49% stake in MBHE Group, a company that provides renewable energy solutions to customers across Southern Africa and owns its own high-quality renewable energy assets across the continent. The transaction aligns with Puma Energy’s purpose of energising communities and helping industrial and commercial customers prepare for the future of energy, and decarbonise their operations, with fully integrated renewable energy solutions.
While ‘location agnostic’, South Africa’s inaugural 2 000 MW gas-to-power (GtP) procurement round is limiting the development of facilities in the City of uMhlathuze, where KwaZulu-Natal’s deep-water Port of Richards Bay has been earmarked as a future gas hub, to 1 000 MW – a threshold that will be breached only if the remaining allocation it not taken up elsewhere in the country. Besides this restriction, the first bid window (BW1) of the Gas Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (GIPPPPP) states that facilities can be located anywhere within the borders of South Africa and must be land based.
Independent power company Globeleq has completed a $37-million senior debt restructuring of its 11 MW Aries and 11 MW Konkoonsies solar plants, in the Northern Cape. The debt restructuring was led by financial services firm Standard Bank.
Independent Power Producer Office head Bernard Magoro reports that work is under way to identify substation sites for the upcoming third Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (BESIPPPP) round while progressing with the second bid window (BW2) for 615 MW/2 460 MWh across eight substation sites. Speaking during a virtual bidders’ conference, Magoro acknowledged questions posed by several prospective bidders about the prospects of securing the necessary environmental authorisations in time for the sites selected for BW2, which were identified only on December 14 when the request for proposals (RFP) was published.
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