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Collaboration highlighted as pivotal to pursue infrastructure development for minerals

Unlocking Africa’s resources potential requires infrastructure development and this should be pursued collaboratively, Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said on the second day of the Business 20 (B20) Summit, in Sandton, on November 19. The B20 South Africa 2025 Summit is being held for the first time in Africa, as part of South Africa’s G20 presidency.
November 20, 2025 by

Eskom welcomes DAA endorsement to tackle R105bn municipal arrear debt

Eskom has welcomed Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s formal endorsement of the Distribution Agency Agreement (DAA) intervention for addressing municipal arrear debt, which had climbed to R105-billion as of the end of September. CEO Dan Marokane told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy that the DAA was but an interim solution to halting the steep climb in outstanding payments and would have to be followed up by a “fundamental restructuring” of the distribution sector to make it viable.
November 19, 2025 by

Storage specialist Sungrow launches new commercial, industrial BESS models

Chinese solar and storage solutions manufacturer Sungrow has launched new models of commercial and industrial (C&I) battery energy storage systems (BESS), which improve on their predecessor models, in the South African market. The new ST255 and ST510 systems are designed for larger alternating current (ac) and direct current (dc) C&I applications with grid-forming technology that can ensure stable and secure power supply.
November 19, 2025 by

Globeleq appoints construction MD

Independent African power company Globeleq has appointed Stefan van Niekerk as its new MD of construction, effective November 1. With more than two decades of experience in the African power sector, he is said to bring a wealth of expertise in renewable energy development, construction and operations to his new role.
November 19, 2025 by

Nersa initiates first municipal tariff review following adverse court ruling

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has initiated the review process for municipal tariff applications for the 2026/27 financial year, which begins on July 1 2026, setting a submission deadline of December 12 for licensed municipalities and private electricity distributors. Nersa said public consultation processes would be undertaken in November and December to meet the March 15, 2026 deadline for approving municipal tariffs as required by the Municipal Finance Management Act.
November 19, 2025 by

PowerChina targets Africa for renewables-focused growth

China’s state-owned Power Construction Corp (PowerChina) is aiming for significant growth in Africa, focusing on renewable energy projects as part of its overseas expansion strategy, a company executive said. Chinese lending to African governments has fallen sharply from a 2016 peak of about $28-billion a year as Beijing grows more cautious about debt risk, but state-backed companies such as PowerChina are still pushing ahead with new projects, increasingly in renewable energy rather than coal.
November 19, 2025 by

Presidency official links reforms to lifting fixed investment to 20% of GDP

Raising gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) to between 18% and 20% of GDP is key to lifting growth to the 3% target, The Presidency’s project management office head Rudi Dicks argues. While also asserting that there are signs that Operation Vulindlela-linked reforms are starting to spur higher levels of capital investment in the economy. Pressed during a PSG webinar to put a figure to the investments catalysed by Operation Vulindlela, Dicks stated that R500-billion had been unlocked mainly in the form of renewable-energy projects, but also in the areas of telecoms, transport and water.
November 18, 2025 by

EPCs necessary to improve energy efficiency of South Africa’s buildings

The new regulations requiring buildings to display their energy performance certificates (EPCs), which rate their energy-use efficiency, at entrances come into force on December 7. While undertaking the process to obtain an EPC may seem difficult for building owners and tenants, the first step is to register their buildings and then to take progressive steps to gather the information needed, conduct audits and receive EPCs that display the energy efficiency of the building and its operations.
November 18, 2025 by

Marokane wants South Africa’s grid plan to be coupled to larger regional plan

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane has called for South Africa’s Transmission Development Plan (TDP) to be complemented by a “regional TDP” to support the development of the grid infrastructure required to enable expanded electricity trade across the Southern African Power Pool. Speaking at a B20 side event on the just energy transition hosted by Standard Bank, Marokane reported that the Department of Electricity and Energy, which is Eskom’s shareholder department, was urging Eskom to adopt a regionally focused strategy now that its operational problems had eased.
November 17, 2025 by

Ramaphosa touts progress as G20 faces boycotts, scepticism

As South Africa hosts the G20 leadership summit this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa has positioned the moment as evidence of national progress. Yet the broader economic picture remains mixed, with many of the country’s underlying structural problems persisting despite pockets of improvement. Ramaphosa’s upbeat public messaging has been somewhat undermined by the fact that the leaders from several of the world’s leading economies have declined to attend the G20, including US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo and Argentinian President Javier Milei. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s attendance also remains uncertain.
November 17, 2025 by