Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter continued to draw a direct link between corruption at the State-owned utility and ongoing loadshedding during his much-anticipated, but ultimately unsatisfactory, virtual appearance before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Wednesday. To the obvious frustration of committee members, De Ruyter declined to provide any new details regarding the startling allegations he first made during a television interview in February.
Posts
Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 today until 05:00 on Thursday, Eskom announced. Thereafter, load shedding will be progressively reduced until it reaches Stage 1 by Sunday.
The Kriel regional court on April 25 found former Kriel power station finance manager Sifiso Jacob Masina guilty of fraud and theft. He was convicted and sentenced to eight years imprisonment wholly suspended for five years on condition that he is not convicted of fraud and theft during the period of suspension. This followed a lengthy investigation by the Hawks’ Nelspruit-based Serious Commercial Crime unit.
Dubai-based renewable energy company AMEA Power has signed a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with GreenCo Power Services, based in Zambia, for the energy offtake from an 85 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in South Africa.
The 85 MW solar PV power plant will be financed by Standard Bank of South Africa and based in North West.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe still believes loadshedding could be over by the end of the year if emergency power procurement through Karpowership, along with other measures, are taken “seriously”. The minister said in an interview with Talk Radio 702’s Clement Manyathela on Tuesday morning that by rejecting Karpowership, “Eskom must not pretend to be having electricity when it does not”. “Loadshedding can be attended to effectively and be reduced – almost eliminated if we focus on the right things,” Mantashe said, explaining that these measures involve re-looking at Karpowership, improving the energy availability factor of stations, and importing energy from neighbouring countries. Earlier this year, in an interview with eNCA, Mantashe said that loadshedding could be addressed in six to 12 months. At Davos this year, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana similarly said it would take 12 to 18 months to say “loadshedding is a thing of the past”. After his comments on Tuesday, Manyathela confronted Mantashe with comments by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa that ending loadshedding soon was not technically possible.
No immediate clarity has been provided as to how the current proposal to extend the life of certain coal stations beyond their scheduled retirement dates has been aligned with the conditions of a R254-billion Eskom debt-relief package, which was unveiled by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in February. During a Standing Committee on Appropriations briefing convened in Parliament on the Eskom Debt Relief Bill, Eskom interim CEO Calib Cassim confirmed that the conditions prevented Eskom from investing in any new greenfield power generation, including renewables.
The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) has welcomed government’s launch of a public consultation process in relation to its plans to exclude the development and expansion of certain solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage facilities from the requirement to obtain environmental authorisation.
Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy on July 22 last year announced that projects that are in areas considered to be of low or medium environmental sensitivity may be potentially exempt from environmental authorisation, to get more energy generation capacity on line quicker.
A parliamentary committee will not oversee Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as his ministry won’t have its own budget, the National Assembly Rules Committee has decided. On Tuesday morning, the rules committee dealt with the establishment of new ministries in the Presidency and whether portfolio committees should be established to oversee them.
German mine owners Geiger Group have contracted gravity energy storage specialist Gravitricity to investigate the potential of storing energy at a decommissioned mine.
The decommissioned shafts of the Grube Teutschenthal mine is based near Halle, about 150 km southwest of Berlin, and used to produce potash and rock salt.
Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa proposed a “mega bid window” for the procurement of renewable energy to curb rolling blackouts, even as previous plans to build clean power generation have been delayed. Ramokgopa recommended buying a minimum of 15 000 MW of energy, in addition to other measures that go beyond a seventh round of auctions for renewable-power supply that’s already planned. The proposal is evidence of the country’s commitment to green power, the minister said at a solar-energy conference in Johannesburg on Tuesday, even as he pushes to extend the life of coal-fired electricity plants.
INDUSTRY NEWS
WHERE TO FIND US
Address
9 Yellow Street
Botshabelo Industrial Area
Botshabelo, Free State
Call / Email Us
Tel: +27 (0) 61 956 6772
Email: info@transfix.co.za
