As US imposes 30% tariff on South African exports, Presidency reiterates desire for new bilateral trade deal

South Africa’s Presidency has expressed concern over new tariffs that have been imposed on South African exports to the US following President Donald Trump’s April 2 'Liberation Day' announcement.... 

IDC mulls bigger AMSA stake after granting R1.68bn loan to halt longs closure for six months

Steel group ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has confirmed that the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is considering taking a larger equity stake in the JSE-listed group and will conduct a... 

George insists new air-pollution exemptions for eight Eskom coal stations not a ‘blanket reprieve’

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dr Dion George has granted Eskom air-pollution exemptions for eight power stations that would otherwise have been forced to close on April 1. He... 

New credit guarantee vehicle to derisk grid projects to be launched in 2026

A credit guarantee vehicle to mobilise private sector capital by derisking projects will be launched in 2026, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced in his delayed Budget speech. He confirmed... 

Equipment revival at South African port terminals underpinning move from stabilisation to recovery

Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) CEO Jabu Mdaki believes the steady flow of new equipment, together with improved relations with key original equipment and part suppliers as well as shipping lines,... 

CONCESSION CALL

A request for proposals has been issued for companies to bid for a 25-year concession at the Port of Durban’s Maydon Wharf precinct. The precinct covers 145 ha and has 15 berths with a yearly... 

Striking the right Budget balance

There are arguably three ways to view recent developments around South Africa’s Budget process. The first, is to lament. 

Ivanplats signs ten-year green-electricity deal with Enpower for Platreef

Registered energy trader Enpower Trading has signed a ten-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with platinum mine developer Ivanplats for the yearly delivery of 48.30 GWh of renewable electricity to... 

Decision on Eskom’s application for more air pollution exemptions to be announced on March 31

Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment Minister Dr Dion George will on March 31 announce a decision regarding Eskom’s application for additional minimum emission standards (MES) exemptions for... 

South Africa considering export taxes and quotas to revive ferroalloy smelters – Mantashe

Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe reports that discussions are under way within government and with manganese and chrome producers in an effort to halt the decline in domestic... 

Cape Town moves to open electricity grid to traders after pilot

After the conclusion of a year-long electricity ‘wheeling’ pilot project, the City of Cape Town is opening its electricity grid to private electricity sales and trading. During the pilot phase, 562... 

R40bn Eastern Cape green energy cluster expected to reach financial close in 2027

Emerging electricity retail brand Earth & Wire is aiming to achieve financial close on a R40-billion renewables and storage cluster in the Eastern Cape by the third quarter of 2027 and begin... 

New World Bank report proposes four priorities for accelerating South Africa’s growth

A new World Bank report argues that South Africa can raise growth and employment by pursuing four priorities aimed primarily at stimulating market competition and bolstering the efficiency of... 

Eskom’s four seasons

Listening recently to a live rendition of Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons as South Africa descended into yet another unwelcome bout of loadshedding, it did not require much imagination to compare... 

Electricity demand fell again last year amid rapid growth of solar installations

Demand for electricity in South Africa continued to trend down in 2024, a new Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) report confirms. It shows that peak demand was a per cent lower... 

Repurposed Twistdraai destoning plant key to Sasol’s plan for recovering Secunda’s output

Energy and chemicals group Sasol is repurposing its Twistdraai export coal plant as a destoning operation to improve the quality of coal being used in its Secunda gasifiers, in Mpumalanga, where it... 

Ramokgopa hints that new IRP includes ten-year delay to coal shutdowns

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has given the strongest indication yet that the next edition of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) will include a 10-year delay to the... 

Trade war blueprint

US President Donald Trump’s recently published trade policy agenda leaves absolutely no room for nuance. Not even the tiniest crack has been left to allow light to be shed on the possible... 

DEADLY CUT

The US government’s decision to halt funding for African HIV programmes was not unexpected. Nevertheless, the sudden manner of the withdrawal is both disruptive and potentially deadly for tens of... 

Big Red Rocket wind farm to supply green electricity to Richards Bay Minerals achieves financial close

Renewable energy independent power producer (IPP) Red Rocket has reached financial close on the first 242-MW phase of the Overberg Wind Farm, which will be built on 15 farm portions covering 8 721... 

Lower VAT hikes in delayed Budget not enough to secure full GNU backing

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabled his delayed Budget on Wednesday that included lower, yet still controversial, increases to the value-added tax (VAT) rate, as he sought to hold the... 

Ramaphosa insists South Africa will send envoys to ‘transactional’ US once offer is crafted

President Cyril Ramaphosa insists that his government intends following through on sending envoys to the US as announced during his State of the Nation Address but that it will do so once it has... 

Exasperated Ramokgopa warns of ‘casualties’ after latest loadshedding bout

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has expressed exasperation and disappointment over the most recent implementation of Stage 3 loadshedding by Eskom over the weekend starting... 

Eskom implements Stage 3 loadshedding after losing Koeberg unit again

Eskom again resorted to Stage 3 loadshedding on Friday, after a loss of 2 700 MW in 14 hours, including Koeberg Unit 2, which was taken offline on March 2 and was meant to have been returned to... 

RFP for multi-line transmission package set for Nov

Note: This article has been written partly using information from documents provided to the media during the 2025 Budget lock-up prior to the cancellation of the Budget Speech on February 19. The... 

South Africa again flags mega oil refinery plan and expresses desire for regional partnership

The South African government has reiterated its stance that South African needs a mega oil refinery despite “fundamental changes” under way globally, including the transition to electric mobility.... 

NOA Group gearing up to supply wheeled electricity after securing trading licence

The trading arm of private energy company NOA is gearing up to supply wheeled renewable electricity to multiple customers in South Africa following the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s... 

What could go wrong?

The perils associated with assigning shareholder responsibilities for State-owned enterprises (SOEs) that previously fell under the Department of Public Enterprises to line ministries can no longer... 

South Africa confirms US withdrawal of $1.5bn Just Energy Transition Partnership pledge

The Presidency has confirmed that it has been formally informed that the US has withdrawn from the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), to which it had initially pledged more than... 

AMSA to proceed with closure of longs unit after talks with govt fail to yield solution

Steel group ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) has confirmed that it will proceed with the wind down of its longs business after talks with government failed to yield the “timely solutions required”... 

Soon-to-be-launched grid-funding instrument can be private participation template for all SoEs – Ramokgopa

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the private sector participation framework being developed for the transmission sector will be unveiled within five weeks, while... 

TNPA signs 25-year operator agreement for South Africa’s first LNG import terminal

South Africa’s State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has signed a 25-year terminal operator agreement with Zululand Energy Terminals (ZET) for the development of the country's first... 

Has the inconceivable been made conceivable?

Absent that dreaded black sharpie, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana (consciously or unconsciously) engaged in a manoeuvre last week that bore more than a passing resemblance to the performative... 

Investment value of private projects registered with Nersa climbs to above R200bn

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) reports that it registered a further 143 renewables generation facilities with a combined capacity of 1 107 MW and an investment value of more... 

G20 energy work group set to meet amid divergence over just energy transition

The G20 Energy Transition Work Group will have its inaugural meeting this week to discuss the energy priorities that South Africa is seeking to place on the international agenda during its G20... 

Sasol cuts emissions-reduction capex as it confirms rejigged plan

JSE-listed Sasol has confirmed significant changes to its emission reduction roadmap (ERR), while also announcing material reductions to its capital expenditure requirements for implementing the... 

Repurposed Twistdraai destoning plant key to Sasol’s plan for recovering Secunda’s output

Energy and chemicals group Sasol is repurposing its Twistdraai export coal plant as a destoning operation to improve the quality of coal being used in its Secunda gasifiers, in Mpumalanga, where it... 

Eskom reduces loadshedding to Stage 4, but questions linger over Stage 6 shock

Eskom reduced the intensity of loadshedding to Stage 4 in the early hours of Monday morning after having shocked the country by rapidly ramping up the intensity of its rotational cuts to Stage 6 in... 

Eskom says maintenance focus to shift to balance of plant, after failures lead to shock Stage 6 return

After taking the shock decision to ramp up loadshedding to Stage 6 in the early hours of Sunday February 23 - having declared Stage 3 on Saturday - Eskom is aiming to bring a halt to rotational... 

Ramokgopa hints that new IRP includes 10-year delay to coal shutdowns

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has given the strongest indication yet that the next edition of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) will include a 10-year delay to the...