For decades now, the issue of the debt owed by municipalities to Eskom has not only remained an intractable problem but one that has grown in both scale and in its potential to create financial... 

When the topic of green hydrogen arises in South Africa, two concerns are commonly raised, and these will remain significant issues to address should South Africa eventually begin to develop the... 

The decision by Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy to uphold a decision of the National Air Quality Officer (NAQO) to permit the Kusile power station to postpone its... 

There are many differences between Australia and South Africa, and these should not be dismissed or diminished. However, there are also several similarities, particularly when it comes to natural... 

As D-Day for the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) approaches, it is evident that the National Treasury will need to go against the political grain if it is to achieve its objective of... 

As with so much else in South Africa currently, the indication given by new Transnet chairperson Andile Sangqu that the State-owned freight logistics group may require an equity injection is... 

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has confirmed that he aims to secure Cabinet approval to publish an updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for public consultation during a... 

The cost of failing to keep pace with what is required economically and environmentally for energy sustainability should surely now be plain for all to see. Besides the fiscal costs associated with... 

As has been highlighted in this column previously, South Africa’s energy transition has become a highly contested topic and is, thus, a hotbed for the spreading of misinformation and ‘fake news’.... 

The attention being paid to the national electricity crisis appears to be yielding some results, albeit insufficient in speed and scale to fully address the crisis. As the one-year update on the... 

The Energy Regulator’s decision to transfer the transmission facilities licence to the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTC) is indeed a “milestone”, as was highlighted by the National... 

In any healthy democracy, debate is not only vital but should be encouraged. However, a healthy democracy also requires that the contestation of ideas must be based on a common set of agreed facts,... 

Once lauded as an international benchmark, South Africa’s Renewable Energy independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) has struggled to rediscover its rhythm after being disrupted... 

Three recent international publications have underlined just how urgent it is for South Africa to respond to the challenges and opportunities being presented by the strong growth in demand for... 

While it is far too early to declare victory over loadshedding, with many perils still to overcome across many fronts, Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is correct in wanting to shift... 

It’s far from ideal that several of South Africa’s main micro-economic problems are being managed by crisis committees made up of government officials, business representatives and consultants.... 

There is no question that South Africa truly does need to update its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), with the demand, supply and technology cost assumptions in the prevailing 2019 edition having... 

The hackneyed political phrase ‘if you're explaining, you're losing’, probably best describes the predicament in which the South African government finds itself currently on a range of topics. The... 

South Africans are beyond exhausted when it comes to power disruptions and are entirely fed up with false promises. Amid the fatigue and annoyance, it is possible to be convinced by solutions that... 

For several years, certain forward-looking commentators argued that by making only a minor amendment to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act South Africa could unleash much-needed... 

One of the ironies about South Africa’s use of competitive bidding for just about all public procurement, from the purchase of office stationery to diesel locomotives, is that it hardly ever... 

Political and social turbulence has swirled fiercely ever since former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter appeared in that explosive television interview in February, and has intensified with the release of... 

There is justifiable concern that South Africa’s grid could collapsed this winter given ongoing high breakdowns across the Eskom coal fleet, the absence of one Koeberg unit and a rise in demand in... 

It is good news that President Cyril Ramaphosa has finally Gazetted a notice declaring that Section 6 of the National Energy Act, which stipulates that an Integrated Energy Plan (IEP) be crafted in... 

South Africa’s electricity discussion has become far less coherent in recent months, taking on all the characteristics of the Tower of Babel, despite the fact that most of the mixed messages have... 

Swedish Ambassador to South Africa Håkan Juholt made a profound point at a recent workshop hosted to discuss decarbonisation options for South Africa’s steel value chain, which currently employs... 

There was so much to be concerned about after the first formal report back by South Africa’s newly appointed Minister of Electricity earlier this month that it is difficult to know where to begin.... 

Given the depth of the electricity crisis and the lack of trust surrounding Eskom and government’s response – a deficit that has arguably been amplified with the declaration of the crisis as a... 

Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa may have been making a nuanced point when indicating that his immediate priority was on improving Eskom’s generation performance rather than its... 

Even though South Africa’s just energy transition has not really started, there is already significant cynicism and even resistance. This is to be expected for several reasons, not least the fact... 

The messages around the future governance of South Africa’s large and seriously underperforming State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) are incredibly mixed. On the one extreme is the message that these... 

By embracing the ‘project manager’ moniker, Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has moved to sidestep any immediate conflict with political heavyweight Gwede Mantashe, the country’s...