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South Africa fears deeper power outages as plants deteriorate

South Africa’s government is bracing for more frequent and longer electricity outages as the state-owned power utility’s aged and poorly maintained plants continue to deteriorate. The nation has been subjected to rolling blackouts, known locally as loadshedding, since 2008, with 4 000 MW of capacity currently being cut from the grid to ensure it doesn’t collapse. The ongoing energy shortages were a major contributor to the economy’s 0.7% contraction in the second quarter.
September 16, 2022 by

Eskom confirms 32% tariff request ahead of Nersa hearings

After updating some key cost assumptions, Eskom has confirmed that it will be applying for a 32% tariff hike for implementation on April 1, 2023. The State-owned utility is also applying for a 9.74% increase for its subsequent financial year. The increases are outlined in an addendum to Eskom’s fifth multiyear price determination (MYPD5) application, which contains changes to various key assumptions, including those relating to the cost and use of diesel for its open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs), as well as independent power producer (IPP) costs.
September 15, 2022 by

South Africa lays out climate demands to rich polluters ahead of COP27

Developing nations expect rich countries to commit more funding to adapt to global warming and a financing mechanism to help them cope with natural disasters when they meet at the COP27 climate summit in November, South African Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said. Creecy was one of the prominent African voices before the COP26 event in Glasgow last year. She’s demanded affluent nations that have emitted the bulk of the world’s climate-warming gases commit more assistance to those most affected by the impact of rising temperatures.
September 15, 2022 by

Stage 4 until weekend as even more units break down at Kendal, Majuba

Eskom will be implemented at Stage 4 throughout Thursday and Friday, with only a possibility of lower stages from Saturday morning, Eskom said on Wednesday.  “Eskom teams are working around the clock to return units to service, but in view of the shortage of generation capacity and the need to carry out unplanned maintenance to return units to service, we unfortunately have to implement load shedding as a last resort,” Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said in a statement.
September 14, 2022 by

Nersa says Eskom is seeking deviation from IRP to build 3 000 MW of combined cycle gas

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has confirmed that Eskom has not applied for a Ministerial determination for a 3 000 MW combined cycle gas power plant at Richards Bay in terms of the Integrated Resource Plan of 2019 (IRP2019), but is instead seeking permission to deviate from the IRP2019. On September 12, Nersa circulated an erratum to a consultation paper published for public comment on August 25 in relation to it providing concurrence to a Ministerial determination for the procurement of 3 000 MW of gas-fired electricity.
September 14, 2022 by

South Africa suffers 100th day of power blackouts this year

South Africa’s State-owned power utility has implemented power cuts on 100 days in 2022, with more to come. Eskom Holdings ramped up outages to so-called Stage 4 load-shedding, where it removes 4 000 MW from the grid, on Tuesday after three generation units at its Kendal coal-fired station about 100 km east of Johannesburg tripped. The utility expects to reduce this to 2 000 MWfrom Thursday until the end of the week. That will bring the total days of outages in the third quarter to 40, Bloomberg calculations show.
September 14, 2022 by

Ebitda, operating profit improvements illustrate Bushveld’s ‘strong’ interim results

Aim-quoted integrated vanadium producer and energy storage solutions provider Bushveld Minerals on September 13 reported significant improvements in revenue, earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) and operating profit for the six months ended June 30.   Bushveld FD Tanya Chikanza noted that revenue had increased by 62% year-on-year to $76.2-million for the period under review. This increase was one of the key factors in improving adjusted Ebitda, which swung from a loss of $15.6-million in the 2021 interim period –  an improvement of $26.4-million year-on-year.
September 13, 2022 by

Creecy outlines rules exempting solar projects from environmental authorisation

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has initiated public consultations on the exclusion of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations from the need to secure an environmental authorisation when located in areas of medium or low environmental sensitivity. The Minister has given the public 30 days to comment on the proposed exclusion, which is provided for in Section 24(2)(e) of the National Environmental Management Act.
September 13, 2022 by