Energy in South Africa

  • How to boost private sector investment in Africa’s electricity infrastructure

    BOTSWANA, 2017/06/15 A new World Bank statement has called for increased private sector investment in Africa’s under-developed electricity transmission infrastructure, a vital ingredient for reaching Africa’s energy goals. The statement which was made available to the Ghana News Agency on Thursday by the World Bank indicated that Africa lags behind the rest of the world at the same time as it comes to electricity, with just 35 % of the people with access to power and a generation capacity of only 100 GW. According to the statement those who do have power typically consume relatively little, face frequent outages and pay high prices.
  • Treasury disputes Eskom claims on Gupta-linked firm

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2016/08/30 The national treasury said Eskom wrongly stated that coal supply contracts between itself and Tegeta Exploration and Resources had been audited by the finance ministry and has ignored queries regarding the company. Tegeta is part owned by the Gupta family, who are friends with President Jacob Zuma and are in business with his son. Treasury is reviewing Eskom’s coal contracts.
  • South Africa: Eskom Cuts Load Shedding, but It Could Restart Later

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2015/07/11 Eskom ended stage 1 load shedding on Friday, which started at 08:30, but said it could be re-instated at 17:00. The power utility said in a statement at 14:10 on Friday that "due to the improved performance at our power stations and thanks to customers decreasing electricity request, Eskom stopped load shedding at 13:41 on 10 July 2015. It is significant to note that restoration of power takes longer in some areas." While Eskom had implemented stage 1 load shedding across the country, two of the country's biggest cities - Johannesburg and Cape Town - announced on Friday that they had averted the need cut power in certain areas due to independent plans they had initiated to bypass Eskom's request, while still shedding the required load.
  • South Africa weighing up nuclear power

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2015/05/21 A decision expected later this year on a tender for the provision of a series of nuclear power stations in South Africa could provide a long-term solution to the country’s power shortfall. South Africa President Jacob Zuma has pledged to double the all of electricity from nuclear by 2023. To date the government has carried out vendor “parade” workshops in which five nations, inclunding the US, South Korea, Russia, France and China, came to present their proposals on nuclear.
  • Either We Break the Eskom Monopoly, or It Breaks Us in South Africa

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2015/02/04 If anyone still has any doubts about the severity of our electricity crisis, two recent articles should act as a final wake up call. The initial reported that Cabinet had been briefed by Eskom on the risk of a nationwide blackout. This is what happens at the same time as the grid fails and everything shuts down indefinitely. In other words, at the same time as load-shedding wasn't enough to protect the grid from collapse. If this happens, we'd need to source a huge all of electricity elsewhere to "re-start" the grid. This is not available from any of our neighbours. To avoid this catastophe, it is inevitable that we will face heavy load-shedding for the foreseeable next.
  • In Blackout-Hit South Africa, Could Hydrogen Be the Answer?

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2015/01/05 At initial glance, the Cape Flats Nature Reserve building at the University of the Western Cape doesn't seem exceptional. The modest two-storey structure hosts office space and utility rooms for the six staff who care for the plants and animals living in the 30-hectare reserve. But the building is a major milestone in South Africa's struggle to relieve its dependence on fossil fuels. It runs on hydrogen, an infinitely renewable fuel that, at the same time as used to generate power, produces no emissions apart from water and heat. The building's electricity is supplied by a prototype hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) power generator that was launched in November by the university's Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Systems Centre of Competence.
  • South Africa: Low Risk of Load Shedding - Eskom

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2014/12/14 Although the power system is expected to be tight over the next few days, the risk of load shedding is low due to increased plant availability, says Eskom. "The system is expected to be tight for the next few days. However, the risk of load shedding is low. This is due to the increase in plant availability as a number of units that were on maintenance have been returned to service since Monday," said Eskom in its system status bulletin on Thursday. The power utility called on South Africans to use electricity sparingly.
  • African energy environment seems rather dynamic at present

    BOTSWANA, 2013/07/02 Cross Border Data’s African Energy Atlas 2013 has just come out. What does is tell us about the continent’s energy reserves, production and next prospects? This annual publication is largely comprised by a selection of maps detailing everything from major continental rail and road connections, patterns of political risk, energy infrastructure, country-by-country power supply, oil and gas reserves and downstream hydrocarbons markets. Maps are drawn/updated annually by ‘journalist mapmaker’ David Burles and an introductory piece describes the process of production as requiring the application of investigative techniques to obtain even the majority basic data. Data on the continent’s energy environment has been built up using “not only maps, but as well press releases, news statement and good old-fashioned journalistic legwork”.
  • President Obama's 6-day Africa tour

    UNITED STATES, 2013/07/02 On the fourth day of President Obama's 6-day Africa tour, his aides say that he is scheduled to announce in Cape Town, South Africa, a new US plan to advance the electrification of Africa. Aides were sure to make it known that this is the 'signature' Obama initiative for Africa that a lot of have been expecting since he came to office, and the absence of which has given rise to concern in certain circles. As one of the people who have in the completed complained about the seeming lack of new ideas for a "strategic engagement with Africa" from the Obama White Home, I welcome renewed energy towards that direction.
  • Electricity and gas by South African

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2012/12/20 The sales of electricity and gas by South African municipalities surged by 24.5 % between the quarters ended June and September. This means a lot of South Africans now have access to electricity something that the ruling ANC has been boasting about in the past few years.