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‘We have been doing nothing for 10 years’: Idle Tshwane power stations cost the City billions

Around R300-million is spent annually on salaries for staff and maintenance at the Rooiwal and Pretoria West power stations, which have not been operational for more than a decade. On Monday, Tshwane Mayor Cilliers Brink addressed the media on the City’s plan to procure and generate at least 1 000 megawatts of power independent of the state-run power producer, Eskom.
September 19, 2023 by

Energy Regulator approves two outstanding licences for new grid company

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has approved the two licence applications required for the operationalisation of the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA), which is in the process of being established as an independent unbundled division of Eskom Holdings. The approvals of the trading, as well as the import and export licences were made by the Energy Regulator, Nersa’s highest decision-making body, at a special meeting held on September 14.
September 18, 2023 by

Diesel supply problem blamed for low OCGT use during intense loadshedding week

Eskom has confirmed that problems in the diesel supply chain last week meant that it did not operate its open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) as “hard” as it would have done normally in a context where the utility was resorting to Stage 6 loadshedding. Head of generation Bheki Nxumalo did not offer any details on the nature of the supply-chain problems during a weekly update on the Energy Action Plan.
September 17, 2023 by

Growthpoint wheels first renewable electricity through Cape Town pilot project

JSE-listed real estate investment trust Growthpoint Properties South Africa has become the first party in South Africa to wheel renewable electricity through Cape Town’s energy grid, in collaboration with electricity trading company Etana Energy.

Wheeling involves electricity being bought and sold between private parties and being transported from where it is generated to end-users over long distances.

September 15, 2023 by

Renewables hosting capacity of existing Western Cape grid could be doubled with 10% curtailment

A preliminary analysis by two leading European transmission system operators (TSOs) shows that the capacity of the existing Western Cape grid alone to host variable renewable generators could be doubled under a scenario where no more than 10% curtailment is implemented. Curtailment involves the active reduction of output from wind and solar plants in response to system security needs or temporary transmission capacity constraints and is widely used by system operators to facilitate the introduction of renewable generators in a context of grid constraints.
September 14, 2023 by

Energy council CEO sees 2023 as a turning point in the energy crisis, but warns of slow …

Industry body the Energy Council of South Africa CEO James Mackay has said there is sufficient reason to believe that loadshedding could end as early as the end of 2024, but warns that South Africa is not on track to meet its decarbonisation targets. Mackay was speaking at the Solutions From the Edge conference, hosted by housing financing organsiation International Housing Solutions and financial institution Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking, in Johannesburg, on September 14.
September 14, 2023 by

Cabinet consulted on IRP update, but further input required before public release

Cabinet was consulted on the updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity during its meeting on September 13, but the document will be further consulted and revised before it is released for public comment. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni stressed in her post-Cabinet briefing that the document would undergo various iterations and that consultations with the executive represented only the first part of that iterative process.
September 14, 2023 by