Tag Archive for: Electricity

President Cyril Ramaphosa unveiled a new investment target of R2-trillion for the five-year period to 2028 at the fifth edition of the South African Investment Conference on Thursday, where he also received new pledges from domestic and international investors that enabled him to confirm that the R1.2-trillion target set in 2018 had been exceeded. The event took place in a context of ongoing power cuts, which the President acknowledged were weakening confidence, tainting international perceptions about South Africa and undermining investment sentiment and decisions.

Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions linked to electricity generation may have peaked in 2022 and will begin to decline as wind and solar power take over from fossil fuels. The pace of the reduction of CO2 emissions’ stemming from the power sector is critical toward limiting global warming and preventing more damage from climate change. According to researchers at climate think-tank Ember, emissions will begin to drop slightly this year, and will get bigger every year as wind and solar grow further.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will outline what actions South Africa is taking to tackle its economically debilitating electricity crisis when he addresses investors at the fifth South African Investment Conference on Thursday, Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya has confirmed. The event will take place amid an intense period of rotational power cuts, with Eskom having declared Stage 5 and 6 loadshedding for Wednesday and Thursday, as well as serious disruptions to the supply of electricity to residents and businesses in parts of Pretoria, including car manufacturer Ford, following the catastrophic collapse of seven power pylons on Sunday night, possibly precipitated by the vandalism of a pylon along the N4 East freeway.

Stage 6 loadshedding will be rolled out from 16:00, Eskom said on Wednesday afternoon. This follows after an update in the morning which stated that loadshedding would be escalated to Stage 5 due to higher than anticipated demand.

South Africa should not shy away from spending to fix the country’s power crisis, its electricity minister told Reuters, ahead of a cabinet decision later this month on his proposals to end the worst power blackouts on record. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, appointed last month to the newly created role, was speaking in an interview less than two months after the National Treasury granted state utility Eskom R254-billion of debt relief over the next three years.