Stage 2 load-shedding times extended – Eskom

Eskom will implement Stage 2 load-shedding between 10:00 and midnight on Wednesday, and between 05:00 and midnight from Thursday to Sunday. The power utility said the load-shedding was due to the breakdown of four generation units on Wednesday morning, which contributed to the capacity constraints. 
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Operation Vulindlela making progress in driving priority structural reforms

The Presidency’s Operation Vulindlela (OV) has made markable process on accelerating implementation of priority structural reforms since its establishment in October 2020. Presidency project management office head Rudi Dicks addressed delegates during the Manufacturing Indaba, held in Sandton on June 21, highlighting that much of the constraints mentioned by the private sector within the manufacturing sector, including load-shedding and freight issues, are within the focus areas of OV.
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South Africa transmission firm seen hobbled by Eskom millstone

South Africa’s plan to create a power transmission company that will attract the investment needed to strengthen the national grid has been hobbled by its restrictive debt arrangements with parent Eskom Holdings, two people familiar with the situation said. Under the plan to separate the unit, which Eskom presented to its creditors on June 10, the national power utility will extend a R39.9-billion loan to the National Transmission Company of South Africa, or NTCSA. That funding will be guaranteed by the NTCSA’s assets if Eskom, which is R396-billion in debt, doesn’t meet its own obligations.
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Patel says ‘pragmatic solution’ to be found to localisation-linked delays to renewables roll-out

Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel reports that government is working to find a “pragmatic solution” to the problem where local-content requirements contained in government’s electricity procurement programmes are delaying the construction of utility scale renewable-energy projects. “I’ve asked the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) team to meet with the energy team to see how we can ensure that our localisation goals don’t retard the development of green energy, and that we find ways to speed up processes,” Patel said in response to a question posed by Engineering News on the side-lines of the Manufacturing Indaba.
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Hyve Group opens Johannesburg office

International exhibition and conference organiser Hyve Group has opened a Johannesburg office as a means to enhance its presence in South Africa and expand opportunities for South African citizens.

Hyve Group, which employs over 650 people in 12 offices globally, organises over 50 trade exhibitions and conferences in 11 countries and more than 20 technology-enabled meeting programmes a year.
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The Industry Transition: A Pathway to Decarbonising the Hard-to-Abate

The hard to abate sectors currently produce more than a third of the worlds’ climate chaining emissions, which we must sharply curtail if we are to hold global warming to 1.5ºC. Yet, they are integral to humanity and ultimately they ’re playing an integral role in reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and other emissions producers.
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Stage 2 load-shedding to be implemented every evening from Monday to Thursday

Eskom will implement Stage 2 load-shedding every evening between 17:00 and 22:00, from Monday to Thursday. The power utility said the load shedding was due to the continued shortage of generation capacity.
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Finance ‘sea change’ needed for Africa to meet $190bn/y energy investment goal

Achieving Africa’s energy and climate goals by 2030, including universal access, will require a more than doubling in energy investment this decade, rising to a yearly rate of $190-billion from 2026 to 2030, a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report shows. It will also require the connection of 90-million people a year, triple the rate of recent years, if Africa is to deliver modern energy services to the 600-million people who currently lack access.
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Eskom warns of high load-shedding risk as grid likely strained for ‘next few weeks’

The power system is under severe pressure and there is a risk of load-shedding at short notice if there are any significant breakdowns at Eskom plants, the power utility warned on Monday morning.  The power system will be under strain for the next few weeks, it added in a statement. 
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Delay gas procurement until policy reflects big cost and emission shifts – study

Before moving ahead with the procurement of gas-fired generation, South Africa should update both its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity and its Gas Master Plan to reflect prevailing renewables and battery costs, as well as the country’s carbon constraints, a new Meridian Economics study argues. Titled ‘Hot Air About Gas: An Economic Analysis of the Scope and Role for Gas-Fired Power Generation in South Africa’, the study warns that the current policy approach of anchoring gas demand in the domestic electricity sector is premised on outdated cost and emission assumptions.
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