The Industrial Gas Users Association–South Africa (IGUA-SA) is calling for the creation of a new structure under The Presidency to coordinate the actions needed to avert the ‘gas cliff’ faced by industrial consumers by 2030 and to lay the foundations for longer-term security of supply and demand growth. The proposal for the establishment of a National Gas Project Team, which would operate along lines similar to structures established to tackle the electricity and logistics crises, is included in a new ‘Gas Roadmap’ document released by IGUA-SA on November 12.
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The National Treasury has confirmed that a scheme established to enable municipalities to write of arrear debt owing to Eskom by meeting various conditions, including keeping their current accounts up to date, is failing to arrest the crisis. “While 24 municipalities have qualified for the first one-third write-off after 12 consecutive months of payments and 21 have generally maintained payments, as of 7 May 2025, 47 municipalities remain in default,” a section in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement confirms.
JSE-listed real estate investment trust (Reit) Growthpoint Properties has acquired a 30% stake in independent power producer Serengeti Energy’s operational Boston Hydroelectric plant, in the Lesotho Highlands Water Scheme near Clarens, in the Free State. Sabrina Jardim tells us more.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has declared that the “Age of Electricity is here” in its latest World Energy Outlook, which again underlines that electricity demand will grow much faster than overall energy use in all three scenarios outlined in the report. “Last year, we said the world was moving quickly into the Age of Electricity – and it’s clear today that it has already arrived,” executive director Fatih Birol says, highlighting that rising electricity consumption is no longer limited to emerging and developing economies.
The Mossel Bay municipality has cut the ribbon on the Hartenbos Waste Water Treatment Works solar PV plant and microgrid project. Developed in partnership with Solareff and Element Consulting Engineers, the hybrid, grid-tied microgrid is designed to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the wastewater treatment facility, up to and including Stage 6 loadshedding.
JSE-listed real estate investment trust Growthpoint Properties will provide verified renewable energy certificates (RECs) to 26 branches of financial services firm Nedbank that use the power Growthpoint’s renewable energy small-scale embedded generator (SSEG) plants generate. The bank will offset its Scope 2 emissions across the branches located in Growthpoint-owned shopping malls and offices in five provinces, which together cover 8 200 m2 of retail space.
Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has scolded South Africa’s coal industry for remaining largely silent during national debates over the country’s energy future, saying its absence has allowed anti-coal sentiment to dominate public discourse. Speaking at a coal industry colloquium hosted by coal advocacy organisation FFF Carbon, in Johannesburg, on November 7, he said the sector had failed to advocate for its continued role in South Africa’s energy mix.
Research and consulting firm PBS Development Consulting has recommended the establishment of a dedicated ‘Just Transition Worker Fund’ to ensure South Africa’s climate transition addresses inequality, employment precarity and uneven municipal capacity. Speaking at the Just Transition Labour Centre’s (JTLC’s) inaugural Annual Policy Conference, in Sandton, on November 6, PBS researcher Mamokete Modiba said the fund should enable differentiated access across stakeholders and municipalities, particularly those in rural areas that are less resourced than metropolitan counterparts.
Battery systems are now playing a key role in helping industries manage tariff pressures and ensure continuity of operations, says solar and storage solutions provider RenEnergy Africa business development head Juandre Pitout. He says battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are fast becoming a practical tool for South African businesses aiming to lower energy costs and bolster power security.
The decreasing cost of solar infrastructure is driving a rapid shift in how South African businesses approach their energy needs, with renewable energy becoming a central part of strategies to counter loadshedding and rising electricity tariffs. Engineering consultancy SRK Consulting South Africa MD Andrew van Zyl says the affordability of solar power is reshaping the local energy mix and helping companies reduce their exposure to grid disruptions and escalating costs. He adds that the integration of battery energy storage systems (BESS) is further strengthening the value of renewables by allowing businesses to use stored energy when it is most needed.
INDUSTRY NEWS
- NERSA appoints Electricity Market Advisory Forum to guide power-market reformDecember 19, 2025 - 2:04 pm
- Eskom offers more details on envisaged roles of the NTCSA and the TSODecember 18, 2025 - 11:04 am
- NTCSA says any electricity deal to salvage Mozal must ensure its financial sustainabilityDecember 17, 2025 - 3:01 pm
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