Inland port body dubs publication of Network Statement as ‘transformative moment’

The Multi-Modal Inland Port Association (MIPA), which represents six inland ports in South Africa and one in Namibia, has added its voice to a growing chorus of support for the newly released rail... 

Itac expects to finalise review of scrap export regulations during first half of 2025

International Trade Administration of South Africa (Itac) chief commissioner Ayabonga Cawe reports that a summary report relating to the commission’s review of the Price Preference System (PPS) for... 

How should SA respond?

Be it apartheid, State capture or even the government of national unity, South Africans know firsthand the importance and influence of politics on all aspects of life. There is a strong... 

Nersa approves 12.74% tariff hike for April 1, as Eskom reports R16bn interim profit

The Energy Regulator, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) highest decision-making body, has granted Eskom a 12.74% tariff increase for implementation on April 1. The... 

Hikes alone won’t guarantee Eskom’s viability, warns AGSA as it releases alarming audit findings

On the eve of the highly-anticipated announcement of Eskom’s tariffs for the coming three years, the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) has warned that tariff increases will fail to improve the... 

Discovery Green concludes five wheeling deals across the resources, property and hospitality sectors

South African electricity trader Discovery Green has confirmed that it has signed supply agreements for wheeled electricity with five companies in the mining, property and hospitality sectors,... 

Implats signs deal with Discovery Green for supply of wheeled electricity to Springs refinery

JSE-listed Impala Platinum (Implats) has signed a five-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Discovery Green for the supply of wheeled renewable electricity to its refinery operations in... 

Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager gears up to allocate first rail slots to private operators

South Africa’s recently established Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM) is gearing up for the allocation of the first route slots to private train operating companies (TOCs) in line with... 

Perfect storm?

There is every reason to expect that 2025 will be a year of disruption. It’s an expectation informed largely by the reality of widespread national political rupture, epitomised by the return of... 

Eskom now targeting full year loadshedding-free milestone as it breaches 300-day mark

Eskom group executive for generation Bheki Nxumalo says the utility is focussed on ensuring that South Africa achieves a full year without loadshedding at midnight on March 26, after the 300-day... 

Senior National Treasury official Lekhethe to lead IDC

Cabinet has approved the appointment of Mmakgoshi Lekhethe, a senior official from the National Treasury, as the first woman CEO of the State-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).... 

Eskom outlines ‘aspirational’ generation vision in meeting with lawmakers

Eskom Group CEO Dan Marokane has outlined an “aspirational” and largely unfunded new generation project pipeline to progressively replace its aged and polluting coal fleet. Having previously... 

100 MW Free State solar project represents IPP empowerment landmark

The selection of Pele Green Energy (PGE) to supply renewable energy to the South African ferrochrome smelters operated by the Glencore Merafe Venture represents an important milestone in the steady... 

Unsurprising yet painful

News that the struggling Newcastle Works will close at the end of this month is yet another painful reminder of South Africa’s ongoing deindustrialisation. The development itself is not surprising,... 

Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager gears up to allocate first rail slots to private operators

South Africa’s recently established Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM) is gearing up for the allocation of the first route slots to private train operating companies (TOCs) in line with... 

No reprieve likely this time after talks on Newcastle mill’s survival fail

The failure of a task team established to chart a survival strategy for ArcelorMittal South Africa’s (AMSA’s) Newcastle Works, in KwaZulu-Natal, culminated in the JSE-listed steel group notifying... 

AMSA confirms closure of Newcastle Works as it issues profit warning

Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has announced that it will close its long-products business in a move that will affect 3 500 direct and indirect jobs and which is likely to have... 

Updated IRP report to be released ahead of Cabinet approval, Mathe confirms

South African National Energy Development Institute CEO Dr Titus Mathe has confirmed that a report containing a remodelled Integrated Resource Plan for 2024 (IRP2024) and incorporating stakeholder... 

Trading blows

Trade and industrial policy will play a more prominent and potentially more destabilising role given that President-elect Donald Trump has signalled his intention to leverage tariffs as part of his... 

100 MW Free State solar project represents IPP empowerment landmark

The selection of Pele Green Energy (PGE) to supply renewable energy to the South African ferrochrome smelters operated by the Glencore Merafe Venture represents an important milestone in the steady... 

Ramokgopa seeks to catalyse Japanese finance for green hydrogen projects

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is in Japan this week in a bid to secure financial backing for flagship South African green-hydrogen projects in the Eastern and Northern... 

Eskom provides update on coal plants where decommissioning has been delayed to 2030

State-owned electricity utility Eskom has provided some additional detail regarding the decision to continue operating 17 coal units across five power stations beyond their original decommissioning... 

NTCSA says independent transmission projects must not reflect as balance-sheet liability

The head of the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) has confirmed that the entity’s board will insist that any independent transmission projects (ITPs) procured in the coming years... 

Ramokgopa again proposes relief from Eskom hike

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who is Eskom’s shareholder Minister, has reiterated his opposition to the utility receiving a 36.15% tariff hike next year, while also... 

Time to make IRP updating routine

After the false start of January when the draft Integrated Resource Plan 2023 (IRP2023) was released to much criticism and even incredulity, an effort is now under way to have a revamped IRP2024... 

Eskom outlines ‘aspirational’ generation vision in meeting with lawmakers

Eskom Group CEO Dan Marokane has outlined an “aspirational” and largely unfunded new generation project pipeline to progressively replace its aged and polluting coal fleet. Having previously... 

Energy council calls for overhaul of public IPP procurement model

The Energy Council of South Africa has called for an overhaul of the way government procures new electricity generation and storage capacity from independent power producers (IPPs), describing the... 

First hot-rolled coil produced at Scaw’s new R5bn mill

The first hot-rolled coil (HRC) has been produced at Scaw Metals’ Union Junction complex in Ekurhuleni, heralding the reintroduction of competition into South Africa’s flat-steel market. The... 

From crisis to . . .

It was fascinating to listen to Eskom chairperson Mteto Nyati outline, in a recent exchange with the Centre for Development and Enterprises’ Ann Bernstein, why he believed the latest turnaround... 

Updated IRP report to be released ahead of Cabinet approval, Mathe confirms

South African National Energy Development Institute CEO Dr Titus Mathe has confirmed that a report containing a remodelled Integrated Resource Plan for 2024 (IRP2024) and incorporating stakeholder... 

DMRE to push for Cabinet approval of new-look IRP by end-March despite big revisions

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has reiterated its aim of securing Cabinet approval for a new Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity by the end of March after... 

Scatec’s new sub-Saharan Africa head keen to advance 5GW project pipeline

The newly appointed head of Scatec’s sub-Saharan Africa business, Alberto Gambacorta, says the group is pursuing a 5 GW pipeline of renewable energy and storage opportunities in the region and... 

Green-hydrogen secretariat being set up at IDC as single point of contact for public and private coordination

South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is in the process of setting up the institutional capacity to house the Green Hydrogen Just Energy Transition (JET) Secretariat, which is... 

IPP Office to defend legal attempt by BW5 preferred bidders to prevent payout of bid bonds

The Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office has confirmed that it will oppose a legal attempt by two renewables consortia to prevent the payout of preferred-bidder guarantees called after their... 

Far-reaching consequences

By the time you read this, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) will be about halfway through its nationwide public hearings into Eskom’s sixth multiyear price determination... 

Ramokgopa again moots policy interventions to provide relief from Eskom hike

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who is Eskom’s shareholder Minister, has reiterated his opposition to the utility receiving a 36.15% tariff hike next year, while also... 

Remodelled draft IRP to be unveiled next week for limited public consultation

A remodelled Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity will be released to the public next week and is expected to deviate materially from the heavily criticised draft IRP2023, which was... 

Affordability and Eskom inefficiencies come under scrutiny as Nersa hearings kick off

The issues of electricity affordability and Eskom’s inefficiencies emerged as recurring themes as the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) kicked off nationwide public hearings in Cape... 

South Africa to seek rise in yearly climate finance pledge to $1.3tr at COP29

South Africa will call for the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance to be set at $1.3-trillion yearly during the upcoming COP29 climate negotiations, which will be held in Baku,... 

New Just Energy Transition matchmaking platform aiming for R600m in grant disbursements in 2025

A new matchmaking platform to directly link providers of grant funding pledged to South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) with domestic beneficiaries is aiming to ensure the...