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City of Joburg not sharing how it will deal with Eskom interruption threat – JCA

Civil society organisation the Johannesburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) says the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has not provided information to residents and businesses about State-owned Eskom’s threatened interruption of electricity supply to the city. The public still has not been told the full nature of the dispute, CoJ’s obligations, the status of negotiations or what is being done to prevent a crisis.
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South Africa facing major mismatch between renewable energy, grid management

South Africa’s energy sector has undergone a remarkable transformation, RMB senior investment banker for infrastructure sector solutions Keith Webb says. The country, once plagued by loadshedding, has seen a huge expansion in renewable-energy capacity.
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SAPVIA calls for fair access to limited grid as new renewable utility Eskom Green powers up

Industry organisation the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) welcomes the establishment of State-owned renewable-energy utility Eskom Green, but calls for assurance that access to the limited grid capacity will be shared equitably by all independent power producers and players. The establishment of Eskom Green recognises that utility-scale renewable energy and energy storage will be central to delivering long-term energy security, supporting economic growth and attracting investment into the country’s energy infrastructure.
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Mulilo makes further inroads with Hartebeesfontein BESS financial close

South African independent power producer Mulilo has successfully reached financial close on the Hartebeesfontein battery energy storage system (BESS) project, a 77 MW/308 MWh facility located near Klerksdorp, in the North West. This is Mulilo’s second renewable-energy project to be executed within the Matlosana local municipality, which is strategically located near State-owned Eskom’s Hermes main transmission substation.
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Ramokgopa to seek Cabinet approval soon to extend tariff discounts to more industries

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has indicated that he intends approaching Cabinet in the coming weeks to seek approval to extend concessional electricity tariffs similar to those that have already been approved for two ferrochrome producers to other electricity-intensive industries. In addition, he told delegates to a Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) conference on June 11 that lower tariffs could also be made available to less electricity-intensive sectors such as steel; a sector which he described as strategic and where electricity costs had been flagged as one of the reasons for recent production closures.
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South African steel sector at deindustrialisation ‘inflection point’

The South African steel industry – encompassing the full value chain, from upstream producers to downstream manufacturers and fabricators – has been described as being at a deindustrialisation ‘inflection point’. The dire state of the sector, as well as the ineffectiveness of the prevailing interventions being pursued under the Steel Master Plan to arrest the sector’s decline, came into sharp focus during a Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition meeting on Wednesday.
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Eskom Green gears up to select private partners for initial 2 GW renewables pipeline

Eskom Green, which has now been officially launched, reports that it intends implementing an initial 2 GW pipeline of advanced utility-scale renewables projects in partnership with private investors on land mostly adjacent to the State-owned utility’s coal-fired power stations. However, it is also moving ahead with several smaller on-balance-sheet projects that have a combined capacity of 500 MW using capital set aside in the group’s corporate plan.
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Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber sounds alarm on 11% electricity tariff hike

The Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) Business Chamber is “very concerned” about the 11% average increase in electricity tariffs proposed by the metro council. CEO Denise van Huyssteen says the proposed double-digit increase comes at a time when local business faces several headwinds, including massive fuel price hikes, escalating logistics costs, high import volumes into South Africa, and a lack of municipal infrastructure maintenance.
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Tiger Brands advances to 2030 renewables target, with solar at seven manufacturing sites

JSE-listed food and fast-moving consumer goods company Tiger Brands says solar power is operational at seven of its manufacturing sites across South Africa, which is helping to reduce the company’s reliance on non-renewable energy sources and its carbon footprint. The seven sites, located across the Free State, Gauteng, North West and KwaZulu-Natal, are currently generating clean energy that contributes directly to powering manufacturing activities.
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Actom takes over manufacturing facility in Kenya

Electrical equipment and services supplier Actom will take over a low-voltage product manufacturing facility in Kenya from existing technology partner Schneider Electric as part of Actom’s industrial expansion into East Africa. CEO Mervyn Naidoo says the company is planning to establish industrial hubs in East, West and eventually North Africa, which will provide a platform for the broader portfolio of the company’s products and services in these regions.
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