Entries by

Eskom working on grid-access Web portal to improve connection visibility

Electricity utility Eskom is developing a Web-based portal that will offer real-time visibility of locations in South Africa where new generators can be immediately or easily connected to the grid. The utility has, for the past three years, been arguing that between 4 000 MW and 6 000 MW of additional capacity is required to address load-shedding and to provide time and space for the maintenance of its neglected coal fleet.
July 4, 2022 by

After week of bedlam and more Stage 6, unions’ wage decision expected on Tuesday

After a weekend of marathon meetings with Eskom leadership to reach a wage agreement with unions, labour is likely to emerge with a position on whether to accept the power utility’s latest wage offer on Tuesday. The unions – the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), and Solidarity – resumed wage negotiations on Friday after a deadlock in wage talks triggered strike protests at several Eskom plants, hindering vital maintenance work and plunging the country into Stage 6 load shedding.
July 4, 2022 by

Diversification essential for country’s electricity supply security, BLSA says

It is essential that the country’s sources of electricity be diversified to ensure occurrences of load-shedding, as experienced particularly badly last week, stop happening, business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso emphasises in weekly newsletter. “We cannot rely on a single State utility any longer. We have known this for some time and had we acted more vigorously sooner, experiences like last week could have been avoided.
July 4, 2022 by

Focus on ‘core underlying issues’ to tackle load-shedding crisis – EIUG

Ending the current restrictions to the addition of new generation capacity and addressing Eskom’s deteriorating generation performance are key to arresting intensifying load-shedding, the Energy Intensive Users Group (EUIG) asserts. CEO Fanele Mondi said in a statement the recent illegal industrial action had escalated the crisis but stressed that the “core underlying issues” remained Eskom’s poor generation performance and the prevailing restrictions on the addition of new generation capacity.
July 1, 2022 by

Eskom attributes three stages of load-shedding to wildcat strike

Embattled power utility Eskom has attributed three stages of the current load-shedding, which is being implemented daily at between Stage 4 and Stage 6, directly to the illegal strike under way at varying levels of intensity across its coal fleet. Speaking against the backdrop of a resumption of wage talks with unions on Friday, CEO André de Ruyter reported that 2 709 MW of capacity was unavailable as a direct result of the wildcat industrial action, triggered by a recent deadlock in wage talks.
July 1, 2022 by

Enviro dept to reconsider authorisation for Kendal ash dump life extension

An application to appeal the rejection of an environmental authorisation for Eskom’s Kendal power station to extend the life of its ash dump to 30 years has been set aside by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) for reconsideration.

The Kendal power station applied for the extension of life of its ash disposal facility, but it was rejected in April 2021, following which Eskom, in May 2021, lodged an appeal against the rejection as per requirements of the Appeals Regulations.

July 1, 2022 by