The City of Johannesburg’s (CoJ’s) power infrastructure is being pilfered on an industrial scale by armed criminal syndicates, which is threatening the city’s ability to provide reliable electricity to residents, CoJ Environment and Infrastructure Services MMC Michael Sun says. He points out that 1 456 cases of vandalism and cable theft had been reported to City Power between July 2021 and the end of March 2022. These incidents have resulted in R24-million in damages and repairs owing to copper cable theft and damage to essential electricity infrastructure during the 2021/22 financial year.
In this extract from an article to be published in a forthcoming edition of the Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Mariana Mazzucato, Antonio Andreoni, Kenneth Creamer and Grové Steyn argue that a mission-oriented approach to South Africa’s energy transition has the potential to drive cross-sectoral transformation of the economy. The authors argued that, by integrating the expansion in renewable energy generation capacity with active industrial policy measures, significant potential exists for accelerating growth, investment, and employment opportunities.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Thursday that Russian troops had formally, and in writing, transferred control of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) back to the Ukrainian personnel who run the facility. This information had been conveyed to the IAEA by Ukraine. Moreover, two columns of Russian troops had left the NPP, which in 1986 had been the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster (at that time, it was known by its Russian name, Chernobyl). Russian forces had occupied the NPP on February 24, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Some Russian troops remained at the NPP, which has not operated since 1986, but they were expected to leave soon. Further, a column of Russian troops had also left the nearby town of Slavutych, where many of the Chornobyl NPP staff lived. All three Russian columns headed towards Belarus.
The recent resignation of National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) CEO Dr Mzubanzi Bismark Tyobeka has stimulated reaction from a number of South African civil society organisations. Dr Tyobeka’s resignation was announced by the NNR Board on March 18. The reason given for his resignation was, in the words of the Board’s statement, “to pursue his profession elsewhere”. Tyobeka had headed the NNR since September 2013, or for about eight-and-a-half years. “The Board would like to take this opportunity to appreciate the commitment and invaluable contribution made by Dr Tyobeka during his tenure, and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours,” it said. Both the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), the South African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) and the Federation for a Sustainable Environment on Thursday expressed concern on Dr Tyobeka’s departure. They also called for greater transparency from the NNR.
State-owned power utility Eskom said its efforts to root out corruption and fraud gained a significant boost when the Palm Ridge Commercial Crimes Court this week sentenced a former Eskom employee and a supplier to an effective 20 years’ imprisonment after being found guilty on 53 counts of fraud and theft that cost Eskom R35-million. Former Eskom financial controller Mosai Barnard Moraka and Eskom service provider Victor Vilosi Tshabalala stole the money through a corrupt scam between January 2016 and September 2018 by creating fictitious invoices and payment for services not rendered by Meagra Transportation, a company owned by Tshabalala.
A new report on the role of gas in South Africa’s electricity system argues that it would be a “costly mistake” to pursue large gas-to-power investments in light of a shrinking role for gas in the power sector and improving prospects for greener alternatives. Published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the report suggests that a pause be placed on any gas-to-power development until at least 2030. This, given its analysis showing that gas supply to the electricity industry will be unnecessary until 2035, by which date the penetration of variable renewable energy should be such that system balancing would be required.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has confirmed the “postponement” of the signing of power purchase agreements (PPAs) for projects selected as part of the controversial Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP). A signing ceremony was expected to take place in Pretoria on Thursday March 31; the already delayed deadline for the projects to reach financial close.
The Just Transition Partnership signed between South Africa and several developed countries in late 2021 has been held up as an example of the type of ‘climate and development partnership’ that the German government plans to pursue both bilaterally and multilaterally as part of a development policy that includes climate action as a core pillar. In an address to the 2022 edition of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said such partnerships were a “new key element” that Germany was pursuing to support developing countries in their transitions toward climate neutrality and resilience.
The Ekurhuleni Municipality has approved the connection of a large solar photovoltaic (PV) plant and battery system at food and beverage company PepsiCo Sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA’s) large distribution centre, near Kempton Park. The new PV and lithium-ion battery system will form one of South Africa’s largest microgrids, comprising a 1.8 MW solar PV facility alongside a 2.9 MWh battery, while being grid-connected to stabilise the local grid.
Investment by the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) in rail infrastructure would create 76 000 jobs, while prioritising environment-friendly construction in city projects would create 143 000 green jobs by 2030, CoJ Environment and Infrastructure Services mayoral committee member Michael Sun has said, citing the results of research conducted by cities climate change network C40 Cities. The city’s multi-party government has committed to spurring a just economic transition within the city’s economy and to ensure all residents at risk of losing a job in non-green industries are given opportunities to work in other sectors essential to a sustainable economy and society.
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