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UK extends $1bn climate-pact guarantee to South Africa

The UK and the African Development Bank extended a climate-linked $1-billion debt guarantee to South Africa, saving a $400-million municipal funding deal that was in jeopardy if it had expired. The guarantee, part of a $10-billion climate-finance pact between South Africa and some of the world’s richest nations, was due to expire at the end of last year. The pact is known as the Just Energy Transition Partnership.
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Shoprite Group powers up its 100th solar installation; seeks more wheeling partners

Retail giant the Shoprite Group has powered up its 100th solar photovoltaic (PV) system, more than ten years after launching its first solar project in 2015.  With an installed capacity of more than 43 300 kWp, the company says it solar portfolio ranks among the largest of any South African private company. 
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Cost of ferrochrome electricity deal cannot be ‘socialised’, Ramokgopa reiterates

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has reiterated that the cost of the solution being pursued to salvage South Africa’s ferrochrome smelters, most of which have been closed on the back of surging electricity tariffs, cannot be subsidised by other consumers. Speaking to Radio 702 from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ramokgopa confirmed that he was meeting with some global mining CEOs on a proposed solution, which had already been canvassed with domestic CEOs and labour leaders.
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Eskom says no risk of loadshedding after reducing power from Koeberg

Eskom has offered an assurance that there is no risk of loadshedding, after it confirmed that the two units at Koeberg nuclear power station are being operated at reduced power due to a line fault from the Pinotage transmission substation. It has also given the assurance the the station is operating safely and securely, and that all regulatory and operational protocols are being followed.
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Koeberg temporarily operated at reduced power

Power utility Eskom reported on January 20 that both units at the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, in the Western Cape, were safely reduced from full power to 100 MW each earlier in the day following a fault on the 132 kV transmission lines supplied from the Pinotage transmission substation near Stellenbosch. It stated this was an expected response under such circumstances, designed to protect the integrity of the power station and the national grid.
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Globeleq appoints new private customer solutions director

Electricity company Globeleq has appointed Alasdair Martin as private customer solutions director, a role positioned at the centre of the independent power company’s strategy to expand private-sector energy partnerships and support the transition to cleaner power in Southern Africa. In the newly created position, Martin will be responsible for developing and delivering customised power solutions for energy-intensive private customers. His mandate includes originating, structuring and executing long-term power partnerships that enable commercial and industrial clients to secure reliable, cost-effective and more sustainable electricity supply.
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Eskom launches mobile customer hubs, pop-up service points

State-owned power utility Eskom says it will roll out a new customer service model, comprising scheduled mobile customer hubs and pop-up service points across communities.

The initiative marks a key milestone in expanding access to customer support and bringing services closer to where customers live and work, Eskom states.

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Trump offers to mediate Egypt-Ethiopia dispute on Nile River waters

US President Donald Trump offered on Friday to mediate a dispute over Nile River waters between Egypt and Ethiopia. “I am ready to restart US mediation between Egypt and Ethiopia to responsibly resolve the question of ‘The Nile Water Sharing’ once and for all,” he wrote to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a letter that also was posted on Trump’s Truth Social account. 
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Questions raised about Eskom’s revised unbundling plan

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the December announcement by power utility Eskom and government of a revised unbundling plan for the State-owned entity; the reasons given for not transferring ownership of Eskom’s transmission assets to the Transmission Systems Operator; and the concerns raised about this revised approach.
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CHARGE proves viable charging of electric trucks using offgrid solar

Zero Carbon Charge (CHARGE) has successfully charged for the first time in South Africa an electric truck using fully offgrid solar-powered public charging at its Wolmaransstad site. This marks a historic milestone for South Africa’s transport and energy transition and signals that electric freight, powered entirely by renewable energy and independent of the national grid, is no longer a future concept but a present-day reality.
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