Eskom CFO Calib Cassim told lawmakers on Tuesday that the State-owned utility had spent R18-billion on diesel for its current financial year-to-date, which began in April last year, and that it would probably need to spend another R4-billion until the end of March, raising the overall diesel spend for the year to R22-billion. The utility [...]

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has said that if President Cyril Ramaphosa is serious about halting the electricity price increase, he must get rid of Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe . South Africans and the business sector have spoken out strongly against the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) decision to [...]

Nigeria opened a billion-dollar Chinese-built deep seaport in Lagos on Monday, which is expected to ease congestion at the country's ports and help it become an African hub for transshipment, handling cargoes in transit for other destinations. President Muhammadu Buhari has made building infrastructure a key pillar of his government's economic policy, and hopes that [...]

Several political parties, unions, community-based organisations and individuals have approached the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to seek an urgent hearing on relief measures amid continued load shedding. The group, which includes Build One South Africa (BOSA), the United Democratic Movement and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, among others, announced the move [...]

The Western Cape High Court has declared Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe’s decision to dismiss National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) board member responsible for communities Peter Becker from his duties, unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid. Becker was discharged from his position on February 25, 2022, following alleged conflict-of-interest statements that posited that hearings into a [...]

Independent power company Globeleq has completed a R1.2-billion senior debt restructuring for its 31 MW Soutpan Solar Power plant, in Limpopo, one of the first solar power plants built under South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).    The company explained on January 23 that, by lowering the cost of debt for [...]

Transnet could be a major disaster to the South African economy if everybody does not get involved, commentator Michael Avery warned in his column in Business Day on Monday on Transnet Freight Rail and South Africa’s lagging coal exports. “We must be sharply focused on Transnet and its performance – it is a serious risk [...]

Satellite connectivity provider SES and Africa-focused mining company Ivanhoe Mines has reached a new agreement to continue to provide the Kamoa-Kakula copper project, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with high-speed satellite-based connectivity services. The SES O3b high-throughput, low-latency medium Earth orbit connectivity will support operational technologies and staff welfare.

Blasting will be carried out near the Camperdown Overpass Bridge to remove rock outcrops on February 8 at 15:00. This forms part of the ongoing N3 upgrades from Cato Ridge interchange to Dardanelles, the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) says. “Rock outcrops need to be removed through blasting to prepare for the construction [...]

Steel manufacturers should work with coal producers to curb methane leaks from mines to reduce the overall warming impact from making the alloy, according to a report from energy think tank Ember. Methane, a potent greenhouse gas with more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide during its first 20 years in the [...]

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer outlines the reasons for power utility Eskom having to implement high levels of loadshedding so far this year; some of the short-term interventions that are being discussed; possible medium- and longer-term solutions that should be considered; the proposed move of Eskom from the Department of Public Enterprises to the Department [...]

A social media campaign set on halting coal exports through the Richards Bay Coal Terminal to purportedly alleviate Eskom’s loadshedding has been noted with concern by Minerals Council South Africa. “This campaign is not based on any facts and instead relies on outright fallacious allegations that Eskom’s inability to keep South Africa adequately supplied with [...]