Opinion: Nersa’s revised trading rules – market reform or market containment?

In this opinion article on the latest draft trading rules released by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, renewable energy entrepreneur Frank Spencer warns that the proposed rules impose volume caps, broad non-bypassable charges, and structural barriers that will constrain generators and traders alike for years.
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IMF says war should spur faster adoption of renewable energy

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the war in the Middle East, which has precipitated an energy crisis similar in scale to the 1970s oil crisis, should spur countries to accelerate their adoption of renewable energy to strengthen their resilience to energy shocks. Speaking at the release of the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said the diversification of energy sources to protect economies from price hikes and supply disruptions was one of the key lessons from the 1974 crisis.
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Wetility’s free municipal grid reliability tool points to stark differences

Solar energy company Wetility has released a free-to-use interactive lookup tool that allows anyone to search their municipality and view a detailed electricity outage profile, including average duration, monthly trends and how their area compares with the national average. South African households experienced an average of six to nine grid outages a month in 2025 and more than 91 000 unique outages were recorded during the year, the company says.
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Mulilo says Middlepunt PV plant to supply cheapest REIPPPP-procured electricity

South African independent power producer Mulilo reports that its 337 MWdc Middlepunt solar PV plant will deliver electricity at R458/MWh when it enters into commercial operation in the coming 24 months – the cheapest electricity procured to date under South Africa’s public bidding rounds. Located near Welkom in the Free State, Mulilo CEO Jan Fourie reports that the R4.4-billion project is also the first project procured under Bid Window 7 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, or REIPPPP, to have advanced to financial close.
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Mkango subsidiaries to collaborate in UK grant-funded project to develop recycled magnets

Aim- and TSX-V-listed rare earth elements and associated minerals company Mkango Resources’ subsidiaries HyProMag and Mkango Rare Earths UK have been named as collaborative project winners of the Driving Research & Investment in Vehicle Electrification (DRIVE35) research and development (R&D) competition – an initiative of the UK Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to support the UK automotive industry through £4-billion of capital and R&D funding. HyProMag is leading the three-year £6.5-million Rare Earth Automotive Circular Technologies for the UK (REACT UK) project to establish and deliver a full circular UK supply chain comprising recovery, recycling and remanufacturing of neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets from end-of-life hybrid and electric vehicles.
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Cummins launches BESS for Southern Africa

Integrated power solutions company Cummins on April 10 launched its battery energy storage system (BESS) offering for the Southern African market, with its South African head office in Midrand set to host a C1500B5ZE BESS unit. Speaking to Engineering News at the launch, Cummins new energy solutions director Ismael Chang said this unit is slated to be operational in about five months.
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Cresco warns of potential energy security risk if diesel supply for OCGT is constrained

South Africa’s power utility Eskom, which uses diesel in its open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) generators to meet peak demand, may have to start implementing Stage 1 or 2 loadshedding in a scenario of constrained diesel supply, warns financial advisory firm Cresco Project Finance Energy Strategy advisory partner Dominic Goncalves. About 57% of South Africa’s total refined diesel supply is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, and only two of five local refineries in South Africa are operational.
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Vodacom calls for collective action to decarbonise Africa’s digital economy

A new research report published by telecommunications group Vodacom highlights Africa’s high vulnerability to climate change, with decarbonisation efforts hampered by critical energy challenges. The White Paper, ‘Decarbonising Africa’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Sector’, shows that weak grid infrastructure, financial constraints within utilities, complex regulatory environments and unreliable electricity supply continue to slow the adoption of renewable energy across the continent.
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Eskom and ferrochrome producers strike 62c/kWh deal, with Nersa process to follow

Electricity utility Eskom has announced the conclusion of a much-anticipated 62c/kWh electricity tariff deal with ferrochrome producers Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture and Samancor Chrome. The State-owned company also reiterated that the concluded agreements remained subject to approval by the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).
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Diesel generation remains key energy source

Amid a challenging energy landscape, diesel-based power generation remains one of the predominant standby energy sources across the African continent, despite diesel generator demand slowly plateauing, says global diesel and alternative fuel generators manufacturer Cummins power generation markets Europe, Middle East, India and Africa executive director Ignacio Gonzalez. Although there is a need for a “sensible balance” between global decarbonisation efforts and Africa’s need for reliable power, in practice, energy security continues to “come first” across most African markets.
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