Author: The Bulrushes
Struggling Eskom on Sunday said owing to the breakdown of eight generation units Stage 6 load-shedding was continuing “until further notice”. “Since Sunday afternoon a generating unit each at Arnot, Hendrina, Lethabo and Majuba, as well as two units at Camden Power Station have suffered breakdowns and were taken offline for repairs,” Eskom said. “Further, two generating units at the Lethabo Power Station were shut down due to coal constraints as the New Vaal Mine that is supplying the station has been unable to deliver the expected amount of coal during the past week because of the heavy rains.” The…
Construction of a 900 MW Mpumalanga wind farm, South Africa’s largest of its kind, is about to start in the heart of the country’s coal industry, reports Construction Review Online. The project will begin with the implementation of its first phase which has a proposed capacity of 155 MW. This is after Seriti Green and Seriti Resources signed a power purchase agreement for this phase. The PPA has a 20-year underpin. The first phase of the 900 MW Mpumalanga wind farm which spans around 27 000 ha of farmland, will come online in 2025. Over the next three years, construction on…
Al Jama-ah Councillor Thapelo Amad, who was backed by the African National Congress, has been elected as the new mayor of Johannesburg. Amad scored 138 votes, Dr. Phalatse 81, Ngobeni 46 and there was one spoiled vote. A total of 266 votes were counted. Amad was elected Friday afternoon ahead of the ousted mayor, Dr. Mpho Phalatse of the Democratic Alliance and ActionSA’s Funzi Ngobeni. Incredibly, Dr. Phalatse contested the election to be mayor of Johannesburg a day after she was removed from the position through a no-confidence vote. The secret ballot elections were run by the IEC. OBSERVING: Ballots…
Air Liquide and Sasol have signed two Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with Enel Green Power for the long-term supply of 220 MW of renewable power to Sasol’s Secunda site, in South Africa. Air Liquide operates the biggest oxygen production site in the world at Sasol’s Secunda. These PPAs are the first results of the Request for Proposal (RFP) process launched jointly by Air Liquide and Sasol in April 2021, for the procurement of a total capacity of 900 MW of renewable energy. They will significantly contribute to the decarbonization of the Secunda site, and in particular to the targeted reduction by…
An ailing former senior accountant at Impala Platinum Ltd (Implats) in the North West has been given a suspended sentence after she was convicted of stealing as much as R850 000 from the company. The Specialised Commercial Crime Court, sitting in Tlhabane, convicted 56-year-old Hlengiwe Masilela of 24 counts of fraud and 23 of money laundering committed at Implats. The court sentenced the ailing fraudster to five years imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years. The National Prosecutions Authority on Wednesday said the court took into consideration Masilela’s poor state of health – she is on 24-hour oxygen support. Senior accountant…
The Office of the FAIS Ombud on Tuesday announced that it was now able to investigate any complaints in respect of crypto assets. The development comes after the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) officially declared crypto assets as financial products On 19 October 2022, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) officially declared that crypto assets are now classified as financial products in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act, 37 of 2002 (FAIS Act). The Declaration was published in Government Notice 1350 in Government Gazette 47334. Crypto asset providers have until 30 November 2023 to apply for a…
Eskom on Friday commented for the first time on the much-criticised 18.6% tariff hike granted by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), saying it appreciates the “tough decision”. In a statement, released on “Friday the 13th”, the struggling power utility said the tariff hikes were expected to bring financial sustainability. Eskom said it “appreciates the tough decision made by NERSA for the FY2024 and FY2025 revenue determinations and recognises the pressures this determination will place on consumers”. The struggling power utility, which is implementing Stage 6 load-shedding, said it will apply the tariff adjustments to its customers from…
South Africans will have to pay more for electricity after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) on Thursday approved an 18.65% tariff hike for Eskom. The regulator granted Eskom the hike amid debilitating Stage 6 load-shedding imposed by the struggling power utility. Eskom had initially applied for a 32% tariff hike. NERSA said it considered various issues before it made the final decision on Eskom’s revenue application for the 2023/24 financial year. The regulator granted Eskom an 18.65% hike and 12.47% for the 2024/25 financial year. Nersa, Chairperson Thembani Bukula said changes to electricity prices were expected to…
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s court action to quash ex-president Jacob Zuma’s summons will be heard today, Thursday (12 January 2023), in the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Local Division, in Johannesburg. Zuma’s disputed summons ordered Ramaphosa to appear in person on 19 January 2023 to face charges that he was an “accessory after the fact”. The matter is in relation to private prosecution charges Zuma is pursuing against prosecutor Advocate Billy Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan. Zuma alleges that Ramaphosa failed to act following an incident where the National Prosecuting Authority allegedly unlawfully leaked his medical records to the media.…
Struggling Eskom on Thursday ramped-up load-shedding to Stage 4. In a power alert, Eskom said: “Stage 4 load-shedding will be implemented from 16:00 this afternoon until 05:00 tomorrow morning, thereafter Stage 3 load-shedding will be implemented until Sunday morning”. The power utility added: “Thursday, 05 January 2023: Due to the delays in returning seven generating units to service, Stage 4 load-shedding will be implemented from 16:00 this afternoon until 05:00 tomorrow morning. “Thereafter Stage 3 load-shedding will be implemented until 16:00 on Friday. This pattern will be repeated until Sunday morning.” Eskom said the further delays in returning to service…