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Govt extends diesel fuel levy refund to foodstuff manufacturers

To limit the impact of the energy crisis on food prices, government has decided to extend a diesel fuel levy refund to manufacturers of foodstuffs for a period of two years, effective from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2025. This, alongside an announcement of no increase in the general fuel levy, was announced during the National Budget speech for the 2023/24 financial year, which was delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on February 22.
February 22, 2023 by

Conditions linked to R254bn Eskom debt relief may lead to concessioning of coal plants

Conditions linked to R254bn Eskom debt relief may lead to concessioning of coal plants The R254-billion Eskom debt-relief package unveiled by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his 2023 Budget includes a sweeping set of conditions that will restrict the State-owned utility’s capital expenditure to transmission- and distribution-related investments and could also result in coal-fired power stations being concessioned to private operators.
February 22, 2023 by

Govt aims to stimulate renewables investment with R9bn in tax incentives, reworked bounce-back …

South Africa’s 2023 Budget includes tax incentives worth R9-billion to support businesses and households invest in renewable energy, including rooftop solar, in a bid to offset the impact of intensifying power cuts. In addition, the National Treasury announced that it would amend the bounce-back loan scheme, initially set up to support the recovery of businesses from the Covid-19 pandemic, to help address energy-related constraints.
February 22, 2023 by

Eskom quietly deepens power cuts to unprecedented level

South Africa’s struggling State-owned utility Eskom Holdings appears to have reached an unprecedented level of power cuts, indicated late Tuesday by the company spokesman. The company cut 7 045 MW from the grid, a practice locally referred to as loadshedding, in order to keep the grid from a total collapse, Sikonathi Mantshantsha said in a post on Twitter. While that would be the deepest level of outage on record, so-called Stage 7 power cuts were not formally announced on Eskom’s schedule. The most recent announcement said the utility is implementing Stage 6, where it removes 6 000 MW.
February 22, 2023 by

SBI lists issues impeding economic growth ahead of Godongwana bugdet

Ahead of the national budget, to be tabled on February 22, the Small Business Institute (SBI) has called on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to support small businesses and their employees, households and families who are facing high costs of living and experiencing negative impacts as a result of loadshedding.

SBI CEO John Dludlu says the institute appeals to Godongwana to explain how government will support South Africans from the effects of an 18% electricity tariff increase, which was granted by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa to Eskom.

February 21, 2023 by

Sasol, Air Liquide procure another 260 MW of renewables, raising Sasol’s procurement to 550 MW

Sasol CEO Fleetwood Grobler announced on Tuesday that the JSE-listed group had signed a total of five power purchase agreements (PPAs) in South Africa to date, increasing the company’s procurement of renewable energy for its South African operations to 550 MW. He added that further agreements would be concluded this year in line with its goal of procuring 1 200 MW of renewable electricity by 2030.
February 21, 2023 by

Sasol’s coal problems continue to undermine output at Secunda

Coal quality and mining productivity problems continue to negatively affect production at Sasol’s Secunda Operations, in Mpumalanga, where only between 6.6-million tons and 6.9-million tons will be produced this financial year. Such output is well below both the group’s initial production guidance for the year of between 7-million and 7.2-million tons, as well as historical output levels of better than 7.5-million tons.
February 21, 2023 by

Cities scramble to keep the lights on

Reeling from South Africa’s worst-ever electricity crisis, local authorities across the country are turning to private suppliers to help businesses and households keep the lights on. President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a state of disaster over the energy crunch, which is seen wiping as much as two percentage points off economic growth this year.
February 21, 2023 by