NTCSA says any electricity deal to salvage Mozal must ensure its financial sustainability

The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) reports that it remains open to finding a solution for the Mozal aluminium smelter. But it also insists that any new electricity supply... 

IEA still expecting coal demand to fall by 2030 despite record 2025 demand

Global coal demand is on course to rise by 0.5% in 2025, reaching a record 8.85-billion tonnes, the ‘Coal 2025’ report published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows. Nevertheless, the... 

Nersa reinforces shift to competitive electricity market as it approves market operator licence and new grid rules

The Energy Regulator, which is the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) highest decision-making body, has made three landmark decisions in support of the country’s legislated... 

I saw the crescent . . .

As the sun sets on 2025, South Africa’s long-awaited recovery is becoming visible like the first sliver of a waxing crescent days after a new moon. While still modest, the 0.5% GDP expansion in the... 

Cabinet backs six-pillar Critical Minerals Strategy Implementation Plan

South Africa’s Critical Minerals Strategy Implementation Plan has been approved by Cabinet, which claims it will significantly contribute to economic growth and job creation. In May, Cabinet... 

NTCSA outlines envisaged role for new TSO sans grid assets

The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), which is set to remain an Eskom Holdings subsidiary and owner of the transmission assets, has moved to explain the role of the... 

New Eskom unbundling strategy delinks grid assets from future transmission system operator

A new Eskom unbundling strategy, which uncouples the grid assets from the system operator role to be performed by a separate and yet-to-be-established transmission system operator (TSO), has been... 

Eskom promises not to impose burdens on other customers as it inks MoU to support embattled ferrochrome smelters

Eskom has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Samancor Chrome and the Glencore–Merafe Chrome Venture in a bid to finalise an electricity tariff solution that prevents the closure of... 

Eskom prioritises 14 municipalities for Distribution Agency Agreements to tackle R105bn arrear debt

Eskom has identified 14 municipalities for the implementation of five-year Distribution Agency Agreements (DAAs), a controversial mechanism for dealing with arrear debt owed to the utility that now... 

Marokane wants South Africa’s grid plan to be coupled to larger regional plan

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane has called for South Africa’s Transmission Development Plan (TDP) to be complemented by a “regional TDP” to support the development of the grid infrastructure required to... 

Shift in mood

The complex and multidimensional nature of life in any country means that more than one thing is invariably true at the same time. Moreover, these truths can be highly contradictory, or as Charles... 

R112bn cost savings target in focus as new Eskom board takes office

Eskom chairperson Mteto Nyati has underlined the importance of reducing the State-owned group’s cost base as a newly constituted board takes over from the one appointed in October 2022. The... 

Industrial gas users call for Presidency-led intervention to avert ‘gas cliff’

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... 

Age of Electricity is here, IEA declares as it highlights energy security threats

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... 

Rooted in reality?

When South Africa transitioned to democracy in the 1990s, and when climate constraints were not yet on the agenda, energy policy was arguably the country’s main industrial policy lever. The country... 

Industry calls for minimum local-content specifications in private grid projects

Following consultations with the Department of Energy and Electricity (DEE) on an initiative to procure new grid infrastructure from private consortiums, local Industry has again urged government... 

Policy uncertainty could lead to future energy transition funding gap in South Africa – report

A new study that assesses the investments required to achieve electricity security in South Africa by 2050 while also meeting the country’s decarbonisation goals has reaffirmed that the least-cost... 

Important shift

There are signs that the long-promised change to the composition of government spending – from consumption to capital investment – is at last taking shape. In his Medium-Term Budget Policy... 

Marokane wants South Africa’s grid plan to be coupled to larger regional plan

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane has called for South Africa’s Transmission Development Plan (TDP) to be complemented by a “regional TDP” to support the development of the grid infrastructure required to... 

Department says electrification scheme to be ‘repurposed’ to tackle R75bn backlog by 2030

The Department of Electricity and Energy has provided additional information about its proposal to repurpose the Integrated National Electrification Programme (INEP) to meet the country’s 2030... 

Latest renewables survey points to strong 220 GW development pipeline

The latest edition of the South African Renewable Energy Grid Survey (SAREGS) has again confirmed that there is a strong and growing development pipeline of solar PV, wind, battery and hybrid... 

Scrap continues

When ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) initially announced in January that it would be closing the Newcastle mill and winding down its long-steel businesses in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and... 

Godongwana outlines plans for shifting spending focus towards infrastructure

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has outlined several initiatives being undertaken to finally begin shifting the composition of government spending from consumption to capital investment,... 

Seriti Green CEO on the seamless transition of coal professionals to renewables in Mpumalanga

Seriti Green CEO Peter Venn says the ease with which individuals with deep coal industry experience have transitioned into renewable energy has been a remarkable aspect of the company’s recent... 

Mega 720 MW Karoo wind project, with 100 km self-build powerline, moves towards construction

A mega-scale wind project, which includes a 100-km self-build transmission line to connect into the national grid, is steadily advancing towards construction, which is currently anticipated to... 

Head spinning

Given the many moving parts in play currently within the electricity industry, there is a real risk of becoming distracted from what is truly important. Developments over the past few months alone... 

Policy uncertainty could lead to future energy transition funding gap in South Africa – report

A new study that assesses the investments required to achieve electricity security in South Africa by 2050 while also meeting the country’s decarbonisation goals has reaffirmed that the least-cost... 

R5.2bn Red Rocket solar park first and only project to emerge from Eskom’s land lease scheme

South African independent power producer (IPP) Red Rocket has reached financial close on a 300 MW solar PV project, which will be built at a cost of about R5.2-billion on land leased to it by... 

Shocked, not surprised

The latest edition of the Integrated Resource Plan for electricity, dubbed IRP 2025, has been Gazetted and its contents have not really come as any surprise. But that does not suggest it does not... 

Exploration-driven mining revival would reignite industrialisation

Rather than focusing narrowly on minerals beneficiation, South African policymakers have been urged to pay much closer attention to reigniting and expanding the market for the country’s already... 

Despite some immediate CBAM reprieve, South African industry warns of serious potential fallout

A postponement from incorporating indirect carbon emissions into the European Union’s (EU’s) calculation of a product’s embedded emissions under its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will... 

Classifying Eskom’s coal fuel costs as fixed would damage SAWEM

Allowing Eskom Generation to classify the primary energy used by its coal power stations as fixed costs will undermine the objective of using the upcoming launch of the South African Wholesale... 

Sustaining Growth

It is now widely accepted that we live in a misinformation era – one where it has become acceptable, even fashionable, to be anti-science. Scientific consensus is making way for conspiracy... 

Seriti Green CEO on the seamless transition of coal professionals to renewables in Mpumalanga

Seriti Green CEO Peter Venn says the ease with which individuals with deep coal industry experience have transitioned into renewable energy has been a remarkable aspect of the company’s recent... 

Minister’s ‘State will lead, market will follow’ electricity assertion raises questions

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s insistence that the State will lead and the market follow in the procurement of new electricity generation, while simultaneously... 

IRP 2025 raises gas load factor to 50% as adjustments are also made to accommodate nuclear and ‘clean coal’

South Africa’s latest Cabinet-approved Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2025) includes several policy adjustments that deviate from the least-cost scenario modelled, including a raising of the minimum... 

Eskom outlines R320bn capex plan, eyes 2028 market return

Having finally announced the completion at the end of September of its generation build programme, which included two mega coal projects that ran years behind schedule and tens of billions over... 

Nersa launches market inquiry into impact of fixed charges on electricity customers

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has launched a market inquiry into the impact of fixed charges being levied by Eskom and municipal electricity distributors, which it claims... 

Content over form

South Africans are naturally strongly opposed to any more hefty electricity hikes, having borne above-inflation increases for years while power disruptions intensified and Eskom’s finances... 

Ramokgopa to provide ‘IRP 2025’ briefing after Cabinet approves policy

Cabinet has approved the new Integrated Resource Plan for electricity, which is being referred to as ‘IRP 2025’. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni indicated that the plan outlined the...