Netcare receives SAEEC award for energy savings, energy efficiency

Hospital group Netcare has received the South African Energy Efficiency Confederation (SAEEC) 2021 Award for Commercial Corporate Company of the Year in recognition of its contribution to energy savings. The private healthcare group and its national environmental sustainability manager André Nortjé have subsequently been nominated by SAEEC for the 2022 regional and international Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Awards.
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R745m Kusile fraud case against former Eskom managers postponed again

The fraud and corruption case against former senior Eskom manager France Hlakudi and his co-accused was once again postponed in the Palm Ridge Specialised Crimes Court on Thursday. His co-accused are former Eskom group executive for the Group Capital Division, Abram Masango; businessperson Maphoko Kgomoeswana; and CEO of Tubular Construction, Antonio Trindade. A fifth accused, former Eskom contractor Michael Lomas, was arrested by British police in April last year at the request of South African authorities. He is set to face an extradition hearing.
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Floods, power cuts weighed on South African factory activity in April

South African private sector activity expanded at a slower rate in April as power cuts and floods in KwaZulu-Natal province weighed on output and new orders, a survey showed on Thursday. The S&P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 50.3 in April from 51.4 in March, dropping to its lowest in four months. A reading above 50 shows growth in the sector.
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No need for ‘state of disaster’ for Eskom, we can go until Stage 8 load-shedding – Gordhan

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has shut down the possibly of declaring a state of disaster for Eskom as the utility habitually battles unit failures at its power stations, with this recent bout leading to a week-long stretch of State 2 load-shedding.   “There should… be a distinction made between a state of disaster just for dramatic effect as compared to a power system emergency – which falls within the purview of the systems operator,” Gordhan told a National Assembly plenary session on Wednesday.  
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Kangnas Wind Farm signs ecological agreement to protect biodiversity

The Kangnas Wind Farm, in the Northern Cape, has signed an ecological agreement with the Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform, to compensate for any biodiversity impact from the project. The long-term agreement improves the viability of biodiversity and its associated habitats by creating an expansive protected area, which far exceeds the wind farm’s footprint, and delivers a range of benefits.
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Zikalala says infrastructure repairs progressing

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has started with the construction of a temporary detour route near the N2 in uMkhomazi and Umgababa in the north of Durban. This will allow flow of traffic from the south to the north of Durban, which has been blocked since the floods in April.
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Eskom questions assertion that it is delaying IPP projects

Eskom insists that it is processing budget quotes for independent power producers (IPPs) seeking to connect to the national grid, in line with agreed timelines, and that it is making every effort to debottleneck the process so that much-needed new generation capacity can be introduced speedily. COO Jan Oberholzer indicated during a load-shedding briefing that the utility was seeking clarity from both the IPP Office and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy regarding recent statements indicating that financial close on 25 wind and solar projects had been delayed from the end of April to accommodate the issuing of budget quotations by Eskom.
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South Africa seeks to make climate finance deal global benchmark

South Africa’s planned $8.5-billion climate finance deal with some of the world’s richest nations could serve as a blueprint for other coal-dependent countries, the head of its negotiating team said. The potential funding, which will be made available over three to five years, was announced at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow in November. Under the arrangement, the US, UK, Germany, France and European Union plan to provide finance to help the country cut its use of coal, which is used to generate more than 80% of its electricity.
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Gauteng municipality targets 323 businesses that allegedly owe around R312m for electricity

The financially-strapped Emfuleni municipality started a revenue collection drive by cutting defaulters’ electricity in a bid to get them to pay up if they want to be reconnected. Since the campaign was launched on Monday, several government departments – such as the Labour Department and a SAPS training centre – were plunged into darkness.
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Sasol completes Ressano Garcia gas-to-power divestment

Chemicals and energy multinational Sasol says it has completed the divestment of its shareholding in the 175 MW gas-to-power plant Central Térmica de Ressano Garcia (CTRG), in Ressano Garcia, Mozambique, effective April 29. In December 2020, Sasol announced that a sale securities purchase agreement had been signed with Azura Power for the divestment of Sasol’s equity interest in CTRG.
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