Eskom will temporarily halt the procurement of electricity from some independent power producers during the country’s 21-day lockdown. Spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said the suspension only applies to wind energy producers and is a result of a reduction in demand. There has been a reduction in demand of some 7 500 MW since the beginning of…
Eskom will implement Stage 2 load shedding from 09:00 on Tuesday. Load shedding is likely to continue for the rest of the week, the power utility said in a statement on Tuesday morning. “There have been further delays on some generation units that were expected to return to service today,” it said. “They will now…
News24 reported this week that Eskom failed to install flue gas desulphurisation technology at its Medupi power plant, potentially endangering the lives of thousands of people through pollution. The technology forms part of several projects that Eskom committed to as part of a bundle of World Bank loans, to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Many…
Wind power is set to become a major source of energy in South Africa Cabinet’s approved 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) outlines increased allocations for wind power, which will result in the renewable generation technology forming a greater part of the country’s energy mix. The latest IRP states that by 2030, 14.4GW of South Africa’s…
Scarred by a water shortage that almost saw Cape Town become the first major world city to run out of water, local authorities are planning measures ranging from cutting down alien trees to establishing a “rainless day fund” to cushion its more than 4 million people from the next dry spell. Cape Town was hit…
Eskom is battling to keep all the units of its biggest operational power plant open after being served with a compliance notice by South Africa’s environment ministry because of its high levels of air pollution. The indebted power utility has failed to fully repair pollution-abatement equipment at its 4 116 megawatt Kendal power plant that…
Eskom says stage 2 rotational load shedding will continue until Friday, with a “high probability of cuts” over the weekend. The cuts are due to a shortage of capacity and a higher demand for electricity. The utility said it would not be able to suspend cuts for morning or afternoon peak traffic. It would, however,…
South Africans will have to contend with rotational power cuts until Thursday morning, Eskom announced on Sunday evening. Eskom said that stage 2 load shedding would continue until 6am on Monday. Rolling blackouts would then resume at 9am. The break between 6am and 9am is an effort to minimise the impact on traffic. Eskom said…
The High Court in Makhanda on Tuesday ordered that the Makana Municipality be dissolved and placed under administration for violating its constitutional mandate by failing to provide basic services to the community, GroundUp reports. The application was brought by the Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM) and other civil society organisations against the municipality, which was the first respondent,…
Freeing Eskom from the grip of the ANC-led government could also have implications on the behaviour of the private sector which could gain massive power through which to subvert the transformation agenda of the ANC, the argument goes, writesRalph Mathekga Presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko has an unenviable task of squaring the circles, as the saying goes.…