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Final Just Energy Transition Partnership Investment Plan expected by November

A Just Energy Transition Partnership Investment Plan (JETP-IP), which will seek to unlock $8.5-billion in concessional climate finance to accelerate South Africa’s transition from coal to renewables and support workers and communities currently reliant on the coal value chain, is expected to be finalised by October for sign-off during the COP27 climate talks in Egypt in November. The JETP-IP, a first draft and revision of which are expected in July and September respectively, is viewed as the crucial next step in the conversion of a Political Declaration signed at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, last year between South Africa, and the International Partners Group (IPG) of France, Germany, the UK, the US, and the European Union.
June 22, 2022 by

Stage 2 load-shedding times extended – Eskom

Eskom will implement Stage 2 load-shedding between 10:00 and midnight on Wednesday, and between 05:00 and midnight from Thursday to Sunday. The power utility said the load-shedding was due to the breakdown of four generation units on Wednesday morning, which contributed to the capacity constraints. 
June 22, 2022 by

Operation Vulindlela making progress in driving priority structural reforms

The Presidency’s Operation Vulindlela (OV) has made markable process on accelerating implementation of priority structural reforms since its establishment in October 2020. Presidency project management office head Rudi Dicks addressed delegates during the Manufacturing Indaba, held in Sandton on June 21, highlighting that much of the constraints mentioned by the private sector within the manufacturing sector, including load-shedding and freight issues, are within the focus areas of OV.
June 21, 2022 by

South Africa transmission firm seen hobbled by Eskom millstone

South Africa’s plan to create a power transmission company that will attract the investment needed to strengthen the national grid has been hobbled by its restrictive debt arrangements with parent Eskom Holdings, two people familiar with the situation said. Under the plan to separate the unit, which Eskom presented to its creditors on June 10, the national power utility will extend a R39.9-billion loan to the National Transmission Company of South Africa, or NTCSA. That funding will be guaranteed by the NTCSA’s assets if Eskom, which is R396-billion in debt, doesn’t meet its own obligations.
June 21, 2022 by

Patel says ‘pragmatic solution’ to be found to localisation-linked delays to renewables roll-out

Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel reports that government is working to find a “pragmatic solution” to the problem where local-content requirements contained in government’s electricity procurement programmes are delaying the construction of utility scale renewable-energy projects. “I’ve asked the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) team to meet with the energy team to see how we can ensure that our localisation goals don’t retard the development of green energy, and that we find ways to speed up processes,” Patel said in response to a question posed by Engineering News on the side-lines of the Manufacturing Indaba.
June 21, 2022 by

Hyve Group opens Johannesburg office

International exhibition and conference organiser Hyve Group has opened a Johannesburg office as a means to enhance its presence in South Africa and expand opportunities for South African citizens.

Hyve Group, which employs over 650 people in 12 offices globally, organises over 50 trade exhibitions and conferences in 11 countries and more than 20 technology-enabled meeting programmes a year.
June 21, 2022 by

Finance ‘sea change’ needed for Africa to meet $190bn/y energy investment goal

Achieving Africa’s energy and climate goals by 2030, including universal access, will require a more than doubling in energy investment this decade, rising to a yearly rate of $190-billion from 2026 to 2030, a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report shows. It will also require the connection of 90-million people a year, triple the rate of recent years, if Africa is to deliver modern energy services to the 600-million people who currently lack access.
June 20, 2022 by