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Apr
19
2022
By The African Mirror
South Africa’s Eskom to implement power cuts to replenish emergency reserves

South Africa’s Eskom to implement power cuts to replenish emergency reserves

NEWS
SOUTH AFRICAN state power utility Eskom said that it would implement "Stage 2" scheduled power cuts from 16:00 local time (1400 GMT) until 0300 GMT on Wednesday to replenish its emergency generation reserves. Eskom added in a statement that the power system remained unpredictable and that any further deterioration in generation capacity may require higher stages of load-shedding, a term for power outages.
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Dec
02
2021
By The African Mirror
South Africa’s Eskom CEO sees end to crisis in shift from coal

South Africa’s Eskom CEO sees end to crisis in shift from coal

NEWS
ALEXANDER WINNING SOUTH African state power utility Eskom sees an opportunity to emerge from years of crisis by shifting from coal-fired power generation towards natural gas and renewables, its chief executive told Reuters. Eskom has implemented power cuts for more than a decade in Africa's most industrialised nation that have held back economic growth and deterred investment. It has roughly 400 billion rands ($25 billion) of debt that it services through regular government bailouts. "From the crisis that Eskom currently finds itself in – very poor plant performance, excessive debt – this contains the opportunity for us to really act…
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Jul
01
2021
By The African Mirror
Eskom seeks $10 billion for shift from coal

Eskom seeks $10 billion for shift from coal

NEWS
ALEXANDER WINNING  SOUTH AFRICAN state power utility Eskom, Africa's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, is pitching a $10 billion plan to global lenders that would see it shut the vast majority of its coal-fired plants by 2050 and embrace renewable energy. Discussions have already started with development finance institutions like the World Bank and the African Development Bank, a senior Eskom official told Reuters. "It's a lot of money, so what we are putting on the table is to say to funders: South Africa can offer you the biggest point source of carbon emissions reduction in the world," said Mandy Rambharos,…
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Jun
03
2021
By The African Mirror
SA’s Eskom cleared CEO of racism

SA’s Eskom cleared CEO of racism

NEWS
A senior lawyer appointed by the board of South Africa's Eskom to look into allegations of racism levelled against the CEO of the state-owned power utility found no evidence to support the claims, the board has said. Senior advocate Ishmael Semenya found "no substantiation for the allegation that the Group Chief Executive has conducted himself in any manner that would amount to racist practice," the board said in a statement posted on Twitter. The allegation against CEO Andre de Ruyter was made by the company's former Chief Procurement Officer Solly Tshitangano. Following the allegations, Eskom's board of directors in March…
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May
18
2021
By The African Mirror
Activists and South African gov’t lock horns over coal pollution

Activists and South African gov’t lock horns over coal pollution

ENVIRONMENT
TIM COCKS  SOUTH Africa's failure to tackle toxic levels of air pollution produced by burning coal is a violation of its post-Apartheid constitution, activists and a U.N. rights expert said in court on Monday. Campaigners are suing the South African government in the High Court, hoping to force tougher action against heavy polluters such as state power company Eskom and liquid fuel producer Sasol. The campaigners say tougher action is required to enforce a constitutional guarantee of the right to an environment not harmful to health. Environment Minister Barbara Creecy acknowledges that air pollution is a problem, but her submission…
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Apr
06
2021
By The African Mirror
Why South Africa’s electricity blackouts are set to continue for the next five years

Why South Africa’s electricity blackouts are set to continue for the next five years

SCIENCE, TECH AND INNOVATION
SOUTH Africa is once more experiencing periodic power cuts. These typically take the form of scheduled supply interruptions, for two to four hours a day, whenever the country’s electricity system is overloaded. Such overloading currently happens on 40-50 days a year. HARTMUT WINKLER, Professor of Physics, University of Johannesburg Eskom, the country’s power utility, recently admitted that such interruptions are likely to persist for as long as the next five years. This is because of the increased down-time of the rapidly ageing fleet of coal plants. But it is also due to delays in setting up new power plants. The…
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Mar
09
2021
By The African Mirror
South Africa’s Eskom CEO to be probed for racism

South Africa’s Eskom CEO to be probed for racism

NEWS
SOUTH Africa's struggling state utility Eskom today announced that its board of directors would investigate an allegation of racism levelled against Chief Executive Andre de Ruyter. De Ruyter has been leading efforts to improve Eskom's financial and operational performance for more than a year. The allegation against de Ruyter was made by suspended Chief Procurement Officer Solly Tshitangano and raised at a parliamentary committee meeting last week, after which Eskom's board issued a statement in support of the company's executive management. Reuters sought comment from de Ruyter via Eskom's spokesman. The spokesman said de Ruyter had never been accused of…
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Jan
16
2021
By The African Mirror
Ex-Eskom CEO’s brutal attack on Ramaphosa

Ex-Eskom CEO’s brutal attack on Ramaphosa

NEWS
AFRICA MIRROR REPORTER  BRIAN Molefe, a former CEO of South African power utility Eskom has launched an unprecedented attack on the country’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing him of being used as a pawn by a coal mining company. Molefe, in his testimony before the Zondo Commission into State Capture, also laid into Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, describing him “smooth-talking and dictatorial”. On Ramaphosa, he said the president, a former secretary-general of the ANC and the National Union of Mineworkers, was used by coal mining company Glencore to milk billions out of Eskom.  Molefe said Glencore, which bought Optimum coal…
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Aug
04
2020
By The African Mirror
South Africa’s Eskom seeks R3.8-billion damages over coal deal

South Africa’s Eskom seeks R3.8-billion damages over coal deal

NEWS
POWER utility Eskom and South Africa's Special Investigating Unit (SIU) have issued a court summons in an effort to recoup R3.8- billion rand ($221 million) they allege was diverted by former Eskom executives and the Gupta family, who ran high profile businesses in the country. The move by Eskom and the SIU relates to the 2015 acquisition of Optimum Coal by the Gupta-controlled company Tegeta Exploration and Resources. At issue is a claim by Eskom that the deal involved a payment to the Guptas which was authorised by previous executives, damaging the company financially. Eskom alleged "a concerted effort corruptly…
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Jul
23
2020
By The African Mirror
Power cuts return, adding to frustrations in COVID-weary South Africa

Power cuts return, adding to frustrations in COVID-weary South Africa

NEWS
MFUNEKO TOYANA KEITUMETSE Modise was already struggling to juggle her appointments as a freelance beautician while home-schooling her daughter during South Africa's nearly four-month-old COVID-19 lockdown. The last thing she needed was the lights going out. But after being forced to turn kitchen tables into classrooms and bedrooms into home offices, pandemic-weary South Africans now face an added challenge in the form of a familiar headache: rolling blackouts. Months of pandemic-induced shutdown and reduced demand had actually resulted in uncharacteristically reliable electricity for those stuck at home, as South Africa's creaking grid was given some respite. Since last week however,…
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