Atlantic Council proposes Africa agenda at upcoming COP 27 to help combat climate change

Africa deserves the highest priority attention at the upcoming twenty-seventh United Nations’ climate conference – the Conference of the Parties 27 (COP 27), to be held in Egypt, in November, panel members said in a discussion of the the African Development Bank’s (AfDB’s) African Economic Outlook 2022 report during an event hosted by the Atlantic Council on July 27.

A team from the AfDB, led by acting chief economist and VP Kevin Urama, is in Washington DC, in the US, to present the African Economic Outlook 2022 – a flagship publication of the bank – to international thought leaders and other targeted bodies.

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Eskom meets with CEOs, BLSA, JSE to discuss possible electricity solutions

State-owned utility Eskom met with CEOs and leadership from over 70 private institutions in a session led by the JSE and business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) on July 29, as part of ongoing efforts to resolve the long-running electricity crisis. “The purpose of the discussions was to identify initiatives where the parties can collaborate and plant the seeds of opportunity to leverage private sector investment capacity and harvest the low hanging fruit in the electricity industry,” group CE André de Ruyter said.
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Nedbank sees South Africa clean energy loans jump to R50bn

Nedbank Group wants to almost double its lending to green energy projects in South Africa over the next two years as it seeks to cement its position as a market leader in funding renewable power projects. The bank’s lending toward the government’s Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme – aimed at boosting privately generated electricity in the nation – may jump to about R50-billion n the “short-to-medium term” from 29 billion rand, said CEO Mike Brown.
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Nersa consultation paper on next Eskom tariff points to possible 38.1% hike

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has formally initiated the process of adjudicating Eskom’s next tariff increase with the publication of a consultation paper on the utility’s allowable revenue application for 2023/24 and 2024/25. The paper includes a pro forma tariff calculation indicating that Eskom’s tariff could increase by as much as 38.1% on April 1 next year, followed by a further 5.12% increase in 2024/25.
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Eskom confirms R4.4bn battery contracts as it moots bigger roll-out

State-owned electricity utility Eskom has confirmed the award of contracts, with a combined value of R4.4-billion, to Hyosung Heavy Industries, of South Korea, and the Pinggao Group, of China, for battery energy storage system (BESS) projects that will be delivered across several sites by the end of June next year. The contracts cover the lion’s share of the individual projects included as part of Phase 1 of a two-phase roll-out being funded by the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the New Development Bank and the Clean Technology Fund.
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44 MW solar plant gets refinanced by shareholders

The Concentrator Photovoltaics Power Plant No.1 (CPV1), a 44 MW concentrated solar photovoltaic plant in the Western Cape, has successfully been refinanced by its shareholders Pele Green Energy (PGE), the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and Touwsrivier Solar Community Trust, which represents the local community of Touwsrivier. The refinancing involved the delisting of a JSE-listed bond and converting the debt into a limited recourse project finance instrument.
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South Africa set to take over part of Eskom’s R396bn debt

South Africa’s Treasury is finalising a plan to take over a portion of Eskom Holdings’ R396-billion debt as part of a process to place the struggling electricity company on a sustainable footing, a top official said. The “broad brush strokes” of the debt transfer will be announced in the mid-term budget scheduled for October, Duncan Pieterse, head of assets and liability management at the National Treasury, said in an interview Wednesday. The authorities will seek cabinet and parliament’s approval for the plan after determining the amount, along with the conditions the utility will need to meet before and following such a transaction.
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ArcelorMittal to seek access to rail network amid a collapse in Transnet service

ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has confirmed that it will seek to secure third-party access to Transnet’s rail network as part of efforts to stabilise the logistics involved in supplying key raw materials, such as iron-ore, having experienced an intense period of rail disruption during the first half of 2022, which cost it some R650-million in lost sales. CEO Kobus Verster reports it has told Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) of its intention to gain access to the rail network, despite the fact that the utility has not yet made a suitable general-freight slot available to AMSA, resulting in a legal lacuna.
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Eskom, Netherlands Embassy to collaborate further on repurposing of the Grootvlei power station site

Power utility Eskom and the Netherlands Embassy have signed a letter of intent to guide the next phase of collaboration between the two parties. In the next phase of the collaboration, Eskom and the Netherlands Embassy, supported by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, intend to work along two tracks – prefeasibility for a climate-smart, labour-intensive agricultural/horticulture development on the Grootvlei power station site and an integrated and sustainable approach for repurposing of the Grootvlei power station site.
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As silent rooftop revolution gathers pace, attention turns to fair tariff structure

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that a feed-in tariff is to be created to incentivise businesses and households to invest in rooftop solar is likely to further stimulate the so-called ‘silent revolution’ that is already under way as South Africans seek to navigate their way through an intensifying load-shedding crisis. The President confirmed that the feed-in tariff would incentivise homes and businesses to sell surplus power to Eskom.
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