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‘Height of folly’ to develop overreliance on aged coal plants for future supply

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says attention should shift to adding new and cleaner generation to the loadshedding-prone electricity system, acknowledging that it would be the “height of folly” to rely on significantly extending the life of the breakdown-prone coal stations. While much of his latest briefing on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan was dedicated to improvements in the operating performance of some of Eskom’s coal units, Ramokgopa said there could be no “overreliance” on the units in future. This, given their advanced age and the fact that many trade-focused domestic industries had to decarbonised to remain internationally competitive.
October 23, 2023 by

SA has R660-billion shortfall on its R1.5-trillion just climate transition plan

Despite wealthy nations’ pledged $R8.5-billion (approximately R150-billion) and further pledges and investments, South Africa faces a R660-billion financing shortfall for the just energy transition, expected to cost R1.5-trillion over five years. This was revealed by Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy in a response to a parliamentary question.
October 23, 2023 by

Koeberg: New delay as reactor is prepared for startup

The return of Koeberg’s Unit 1 to commercial service has been delayed by a further 10 days as some critical tests are still to be completed before the reactor is started. The last date that Eskom provided for the return of Unit 1 from the extension of life project was 3 November. It is now expected to be returned around 13 November. Unit 2 will then be taken offline to replace its steam generators. The extension project will give Koeberg a 20-year extension of its licence, which expires in July 2024. 
October 20, 2023 by

Africa needs an energy transition that reflects its reality – Congo, South Sudan Ministers

Africa is largely transitioning “from nothing”, says South Sudan Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol. Speaking on Africa’s agenda for the forthcoming COP28 at the African Energy Week held in Cape Town this week, Chol said to “transition means to move – we need to move to energy first before can talk about an energy transition. We need reliable, affordable and accessible energy, no matter where it comes from.”
October 20, 2023 by

Systems in place for recoding of 6.8m prepaid meters ahead of Nov 2024 deadline – Eskom

Eskom insists its systems and strategies are in place to facilitate the seamless operation of the 6.8-million prepaid meters within its distribution areas after November 24 next year – the date by which the meters will no longer be able to accept electricity tokens unless they have been recoded to do so. All Standard Transfer Specification (STS) meters globally, including those in municipal distribution areas in South Africa, are subject to the cut-off deadline. The reason being that the Token Identifier, or TID, range, which is set against a base date of January 1, 1993, will be exhausted by in November 2024 unless reset.
October 19, 2023 by

Unlocking grid immediately through curtailment a priority, Cassim confirms

Eskom interim CEO Calib Cassim has described unlocking grid connection capacity, using curtailment, as an urgent priority while Eskom and other stakeholders assess funding options to expand the transmission network. Speaking at a climate conference in Johannesburg, Cassim reported that discussions were under way on how to ensure that more renewable-energy independent power producers (IPPs) were connected to the grid ahead of the large-scale grid-related investment that was being planned.
October 18, 2023 by

Energy crisis being addressed, but implementation is slow, admits DMRE DG

One of the biggest positive developments over the last 12 months has been the “convergence of ideas on what we need to do to resolve the energy crisis”, says Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) director-general (DG) Jacob Mbele. “We come from a period where people were pushing for certain technologies, but there is now almost general consensus around the fact that we first have to fix what we have to ensure that we have energy security.”
October 18, 2023 by

Mantashe seeks to extend the life of Eskom’s coal-fired power stations

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has called on the private sector to “please and come talk to us” if they have any ideas on extending the life of South Africa’s fleet of coal-fired power stations. “There are many that have been earmarked for decommissioning because they are near the end of their life, but there is a view that is growing in Cabinet that many of them must have their life extended.”
October 18, 2023 by