Plan to get electricity to more Africans wins $8-billion in new pledges

An initiative to connect 300-million Africans to electricity in the next six years has won new pledges worth more than $8-billion from lenders including the Islamic Development Bank and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank. The Mission 300 initiative, launched by the World Bank and the African Development Bank in April, is projected to cost $90-billion. Its implementation faces challenges because the economies of countries in the region are severely constrained, mainly due to sluggish revenue and high debt service costs.
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JUWI building 340 MW of solar PV to supply South African corporates

Leading global builder and operator of renewable-energy projects JUWI Renewable Energies has announced that it is building three utility scale solar PV projects in South Africa with a combined capacity of 340 MW and an investment value of R6-billion. Once in operation the independent power producer (IPP) projects will produce more than a million megawatt-hours yearly and supply green electricity to companies in the mining, data centre, and energy sectors, including Glencore, Teraco, Sasol, and Air Liquide.
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Faith-based eco-justice organisation calls for reforms to SA’s electricity pricing

As Eskom seeks approval from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) for a 36% electricity tariff increase, faith-based eco-justice organisation, the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI), is calling for reforms to South Africa’s electricity pricing system. SAFCEI warned that approving the hike would push many households deeper into energy poverty and said the focus should rather be on addressing Eskom’s shortcomings.  
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Discovery Green concludes five wheeling deals across the resources, property and hospitality sectors

South African electricity trader Discovery Green has confirmed that is has signed supply agreements for wheeled electricity with five companies in the mining, property and hospitality sectors, where the appetite for clean energy and price certainty remains strong despite the lowering of the loadshedding risk. Having confirmed a five-year power purchase agreement with platinum miner Implats on January 27, the Discovery Group company reported that it had also signed agreements with KP Lime, The Capital Hotels and Apartments, Balwin Properties, and Fortress REIT Limited.
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Dry Zimbabwe hit by blackouts, but renewables still underfunded

Loveness Madangawa prepares lunch over an open fire in Mutare in eastern Zimbabwe – she has an electric stove, but power cuts caused partly by drought hitting the main hydropower station means she has no choice. “It is not easy, but I am now used to it,” the 35-year-old mother-of-three told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in the densely populated suburb of Dangamvura.
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World Bank’s Banga seeks $85bn to leverage Africa’s youth

World Bank president Ajay Banga said boosting access to electricity is the key to unlocking the demographic dividend in the world’s youngest continent. Banga, who spoke in an interview at the Mission 300 Africa Energy Summit in Tanzania, laid out a plan that could see the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, African Development Bank and private investors spend about $85-billion to bring power to 300-million people by 2030.
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Prescient launches new domestic fund with R200m seed capital

Investment management company Prescient Investment Management has launched the Prescient Domestic Balanced Fund, seeded with an initial investment of R200-million. The fund has a number of unique characteristics, including low-cost access to a variety of South African assets including equity, bonds, infrastructure, clean energy and both private and listed credit.
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Opinion: The Electricity Regulation Amendment Act and South Africa’s new era of electricity …

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.
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Implats signs deal with Discovery Green for supply of wheeled electricity to Springs refinery

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.
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Eskom says delaying update to tariff structure will entrench incorrect price signals

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.
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