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AfDB, Irena to jointly advance Africa’s energy transition

The International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) will jointly support investment in low-carbon energy projects, a move which is expected to advance Africa’s energy transition. The two entities have signed a declaration of intent to coordinate on a range of activities, including co-organising renewable energy investment forums as part of Irena’s contribution to the Climate Investment Platform, and collaboration on the AfDB’s yearly flagship Africa Investment Forum event.
December 9, 2020 by

Pay for electricity to help Eskom succeed, Mabuza urges

Communities must pay for electricity if Eskom is to succeed, Deputy President David Mabuza has said. “Doing so is in the best interest of our country,” he said on Tuesday morning at a Nedlac summit, which will see business, trade union and government leaders sign a social compact to support the ailing power utility.
December 8, 2020 by

Social partners ink compact on reducing Eskom’s debt and facilitating ‘just transition’ …

Organised business, labour, community and government have officially signed a social compact in support of debt-laden Eskom that also endorses the need for a “just transition” for coal workers and communities as the electricity system begins to transition to higher levels of renewable energy and self-generation. The compact, which at its core endorses the need to reduce Eskom’s unsustainable debt burden, was signed at the twenty-fifth annual summit of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).
December 8, 2020 by

EIUG urges members to apply for relief under negotiated pricing agreement framework

The Energy Intensive Users Group of Southern Africa (EIUG) has welcomed the ‘Short-Term and Interim Long-Term Negotiated Pricing Agreement (NPA) frameworks’ approved by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and is encouraging its members to apply for these opportunities where applicable. Through previous NPAs, industrial and mining companies that rely heavily on electricity for production have secured favourable tariffs, typically indexed to the price of the commodity being produced and usually for a time-defined period.
December 8, 2020 by

Seifsa calls for moratorium on power hikes as Eskom makes case for cost-reflectivity

Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) used the platform created by ongoing National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) hearings to call for a moratorium on additional electricity tariff hikes, arguing that further increases would undermine the country’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan. The hearings are being held to assess a supplementary application submitted by Eskom in line with a court decision to remit the regulatory clearing account (RCA) decisions for the 2015, 2016 and 2017 financial years back to the regulator for reconsideration.
December 7, 2020 by

Public hearing participant questions Nersa mandate in evolving electricity market

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) was outdated, and regulation changes were needed to bring it in line with current trends, the only respondent to public hearings into gold miner Gold Fields’ application to build a 40 MW solar plant near its mine in Westonaria said on Thursday. Brian Day, of Today Innovation, said at the public hearing that he supported power plant licences, such as the one applied for by Gold Fields. “I fully support the applicant, and anyone else who wants to generate electricity for a private client to be issued with the requisite generation licence by Nersa.”
December 4, 2020 by

New group CEO announced for Necsa

The South African Cabinet announced on Friday that, at its Wednesday virtual meeting, it had ratified the appointment of Loyiso Tyabashe as the new group CEO for the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa).

He holds a MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cape Town and started his career as an engineer in the national electricity utility Eskom in 2000.

December 4, 2020 by