In this article, Webber Wentzel partner Jason van der Poel and associates Emma Bleeker and Kiera Bracher write that the coming into effect of the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act is to be welcomed but that the electricity market may need to rely on its judicial system to limit government power and provide clarity on certain issues arising from the Act.
JSE-listed Impala Platinum (Implats) has signed a five-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Discovery Green for the supply of wheeled renewable electricity to its refinery operations in Springs, Ekurhuleni, from the end of 2026. The mining company said 90% of the operation’s electricity supply, or more than 130 000 MWh, would be sourced under the PPA, and would enable Impala Refineries to slash it Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by more than 852 000 t over the PPA period.
Eskom has appealed to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) not to again postpone the implementation of a new retail tariff plan (RTP), warning that any delay would further entrench prevailing incorrect price signals to consumers. However, this appeal came amid warnings that the changes being proposed by Eskom could carry unintended consequences for municipal distributors and their customers, undermine nascent efforts to unlock new generation through wheeling, and penalise households and firms that have invested in rooftop solar systems.
With power utility Eskom breaching 300 days without loadshedding, the national energy debate is likely to shift from availability to affordability, says Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. Addressing the Cape Town Press Club this week, he said “every, single MW” the city was buying from sources other than Eskom was cheaper than the electricity on offer from the State-owned entity – and this was before the up-to-44% tariff hike application Eskom had lodged with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa for the 2025/26 financial year.
Inconsistent government and corporate climate strategies may see poorer regions left behind in the transition away from polluting industries to green jobs, according to new research. Wealthier cities like Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg, have more advanced plans to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts than less affluent regions, said the analysis of more than 50 government and corporate entities by South African non-profit SouthSouthNorth (SSN).
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has released an alternative to Eskom’s proposed retail tariff plan (RTP) ahead of public hearings into the plan, which proposes far-reaching changes to the residential tariff structure that some warn could penalise households with rooftop solar. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) will host virtual hearings into Eskom’s proposed RTP on January 23, having postponed the hearings from the initial December 18 date set.
Addressing a gathering of global leaders on January 21, World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and chairperson Klaus Schwab called on the global community to embrace “constructive optimism”, urging stakeholders from all sectors – government, business, civil society and academia – to unite in crafting solutions to shared challenges brought about by the transition from the industrial to the intelligent age. “This [transition] is occurring at an exponential pace, carrying unprecedented risks for humanity as we strive to prepare and adapt for its complexities. Yet, it also offers significant opportunities to transcend our current challenges and spark a new renaissance – one defined by advancements in knowledge, health, culture and societal welfare,” he said at the fifty-fifth yearly meeting in Davos, Switzerland, highlighting the theme of the gathering: ‘Collaboration for the intelligent age’.
Sasol CEO Simon Baloyi is seeking a new path for South Africa’s second-largest polluter to reach its emissions target after doubling down on coal to run its fuel and chemicals production. The Johannesburg-based company plans to boost the use of renewable energy to counter the growing dependence on coal, Baloyi said. The firm has faced increasing pressure to lower greenhouse gases – mainly from the production process at its Secunda plant, the world’s biggest single site for emissions.
With several new renewables and battery storage projects under construction or being advanced to financial close, 2025 is poised to be a significant year in Mulilo’s ongoing transition from an entrepreneurial developer, which took minority stakes in projects, to a leading South African integrated independent power producer (IPP). Towards the tail-end of last year, the Cape Town-headquartered company was awarded five projects during the second bid window of South Africa’s battery storage procurement programme, as well as a 240 MW solar PV project under South Africa’s seventh renewables bid window. Earlier, it concluded a private power purchase agreement (PPA) with Air Products South Africa for a 75 MW solar PV project in the Northern Cape.
Eskom group executive for generation Bheki Nxumalo says the utility is focussed on ensuring that South Africa achieves a full year without loadshedding at midnight on March 26, after the 300-day milestone was breached on January 21 – one that was last achieved in June 2018. Nxumalo, who has been leading the Generation Recovery Plan since March 2023 that is credited for facilitating a reduction in unplanned breakdowns, attributed the turnaround to Eskom’s 40 000 employees.
INDUSTRY NEWS
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