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Oracle says Eskom must pay up, as utility warns of ‘catastrophic consequences’ of loss of support

Business software giant Oracle has said Eskom should “pay the pending dues for the Oracle software that they use,” after the power utility last week lost a court application to compel the US corporation to renew its support services until April 2022.  Oracle provides a range of IT services, which the struggling utility in court papers described as “quite essential to some of Eskom’s crucial operations”.
April 7, 2021 by

Old Mutual Fund says South Africa needs gas as a transition fuel

A key funder of South Africa’s renewable energy drive is backing natural gas as the fuel needed to help the country bridge the transition from coal power generation to the use of wind and solar. Old Mutual Ltd.’s African Infrastructure Investment Managers will consider funding companies that compete for the right to produce 3,000 megawatts of electricity from gas in an upcoming bid round planned by the government, said Vuyo Ntoi, co-managing director of the $2-billion fund.
April 6, 2021 by

Energy analysts question why ‘emergency’ powerships will stay until 2042

A project to quickly ease South Africa’s electricity supply constraints by using floating powerships has come under fire by energy analysts, who have questioned why agreements will lock SA into using the ships until 2042.   Earlier this month Minister of Energy Gwede Mantashe announced the names of the eight preferred bidders for SA’s “Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme” – an initiative to fast-track new power production to cut down on load shedding and save on diesel costs. 
April 6, 2021 by

Eskom taking contingency steps after R7.3bn Oracle dispute

Eskom Holdings has taken steps to protect its operations from disruptions after a contractual dispute with Oracle Corp.’s South African unit put its technical support services at risk. The state power utility confirmed on Monday that it’s involved in the disagreement in which Oracle initially claimed Eskom underpaid it by about R7.3-billion ($500 million). While the amount was later reduced between the parties, Oracle rejected Eskom’s settlement offer of 166 million rand and threatened to terminate its services, the power utility said in an emailed statement.
April 6, 2021 by

Egypt says latest round of GERD talks are ‘last chance’ before second dam filling

The latest meeting between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam may be the last chance to re-launch talks before it is filled for the second year in a row, Egypt said in a statement on Sunday. The meeting concludes on Monday in Kinshasa. Previous attempts at reaching agreement over the giant dam that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile have ended in deadlock.
April 6, 2021 by

City Power appoints former Eskom exec as new CEO

City Power has appointed Mongezi Ntsokolo as its new CEO with effect from April 1. Ntsokolo has almost 30 years’ experience in the electricity industry, having served in different managerial roles at State power utility Eskom, including as group executive for generation, transmission, distribution and human resources. 
April 1, 2021 by

DMRE delays release of renewables bid documentation

The release of the request for proposal (RFP) documentation for Bid Window 5 (BW 5) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) has been delayed, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has confirmed. The department reports that the delay is the result of a need to align certain parts of the RFP documents with feedback from National Treasury on the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act exemption application.
April 1, 2021 by

South African start-up raises $1.4m in crowd sale of Zimbabwe solar project

South African energy start-up Sun Exchange raised $1.4-million in a crowd sale of solar cells of a 1.9 MW solar and battery storage facility at Zimbabwe’s Nhimbe Fresh farm, the firm said on Wednesday.

Investors were invited to purchase individual solar cells in the project. In exchange, they will earn a rental income in cryptocurrency from the electricity generated.

Sun Exchange said the crowd sale attracted more than 1 700 individuals buyers.

April 1, 2021 by

Eskom board appoints Advocate Semenya to conduct De Ruyter probe

The board at State-owned electricity utility Eskom confirmed on Thursday that Advocate Ishmael Semenya SC had accepted its request to conduct an independent inquiry into claims of racism and abuse of power levelled against CEO André de Ruyter by suspended chief procurement officer Solly Tshitangano. Tshitangano made his allegations in writing to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts, which subsequently indicated that it intended investigating the matter.
April 1, 2021 by