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SA receives power generating equipment from China

SA receives power generating equipment from China

ELECTRICITY generation, and supply, have become South Africa’s perennial albatross around the neck. So much so, that our country is credited with the popularization of the term “load-shedding”. And so constant has this societal inconvenience been since 2007 that, to a large extent, load-shedding has come to be accepted as a normal occurrence in SA. At the beginning of the year, President Cyril Ramaphosa responded to the energy crisis by declaring a national state of disaster. Today might, however, just be the beginning of the end of load-shedding, thanks to the flourishing bilateral relations between Pretoria and Beijing. Minister in…
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Tourists are returning to South Africa – but the sector will need to go green to deal with the country’s electricity crisis

Tourists are returning to South Africa – but the sector will need to go green to deal with the country’s electricity crisis

FOR the past 16 years South Africans have dreaded rolling power cuts euphemistically dubbed “load-shedding”. These are caused by the ailing state power entity Eskom’s crumbling infrastructure and its over-reliance on ageing and poorly maintained coal-fired power stations. Load-shedding has worsened in 2023, with some areas experiencing power cuts for up to 10 hours a day. This crisis affects every aspect of the country’s economy, including its vibrant tourism sector. Tourism is a vital contributor to the South African economy. In 2019 the country welcomed over 10 million foreign visitors. The sector contributed up to 6.4% of the gross domestic…
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MTN South Africa’s network availability improves due to battery, generator deployment

MTN South Africa’s network availability improves due to battery, generator deployment

MTN Group's South African arm said its network availability had improved by 15% as a result of ongoing investment to ensure its mobile network operates effectively during the worst power cuts on record. As the national power grid crumbles, leaving Africa's most advanced economy in the dark for up to 10 hours a day, mobile operators including MTN, Vodacom, and majority state-owned Telkom are scrambling to ensure their networks stay up and running. "It's an ongoing battle, but one that we're committed to winning as we fight to provide our customers with a reliable and resilient network," MTN South Africa Chief Executive Charles…
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South African rand little changed as power cuts ease

South African rand little changed as power cuts ease

SOUTH Africa's rand was little changed as a reduction in the intensity of rolling power cuts boosted the currency. At 1514 GMT, the rand traded at 18.1950 against the dollar, near its previous close of 18.1900. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six major rivals, was up 0.16% to 102.46. It remained close to a one-month low of 102.00 it touched on Friday. "Locally, load-shedding (blackouts) have somewhat diminished allowing for businesses to run more efficiently and if this trend is to continue, the rand may gain additional traction," DailyFX analyst Warren Venketas said. Increased generation over…
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South Africa’s power blackouts: solutions lie in solar farms and battery storage at scale, and an end to state monopoly

South Africa’s power blackouts: solutions lie in solar farms and battery storage at scale, and an end to state monopoly

ROLLING blackouts are costing South Africa dearly. The electricity crisis is a barrier to growth, destroys investor confidence and handicaps almost every economic activity. It has raised input costs for producers and retailers and has triggered a new round of inflation and interest rate increases. Author DAVID RICHARD WALWYN, Professor of Technology Management, University of Pretoria Any solution will obviously incur cost because it will require the adoption of new technologies, such as large-scale grid-connected solar farms that are linked to battery energy storage. But these technologies are expensive. A solar farm consisting of 50 MW of photovoltaic panels with…
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‘SA should spend to end blackouts’

‘SA should spend to end blackouts’

SOUTH Africa should not shy away from spending to fix the country's power crisis, its electricity minister told Reuters, ahead of a cabinet decision later this month on his proposals to end the worst power blackouts on record. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, appointed last month to the newly created role, was speaking in an interview less than two months after the National Treasury granted state utility Eskom 254 billion rand ($13.81 billion) of debt relief over the next three years. President Cyril Ramaphosa's government has made repeated attempts to improve power availability but failed to make progress. Ramokgopa's appointment is the latest effort to…
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<strong>South Africa’s power crisis: going off the grid works for the wealthy – but could deepen injustice for the poor</strong>

South Africa’s power crisis: going off the grid works for the wealthy – but could deepen injustice for the poor

SOUTH Africa’s current electricity crisis has been described as “a perfect storm”. A number of factors have converged to reach this point: an ageing and inadequately maintained fleet of coal power stations, delays in upgrading the Koeberg nuclear power station and significant failures at the recently built Medupi and Kusile coal power stations. Authors CHRISTINA CULWICK FATTI, Senior researcher, urban sustainability transitions, environmental governance and resilience, Gauteng City-Region Observatory SAMKELISIWE KHANYILE, Researcher, Gauteng City-Region Observatory Since the beginning of 2022, power utility Eskom’s inability to meet the country’s electricity demand has resulted in unprecedented load-shedding (scheduled power cuts). In 2022,…
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SA power cuts hurts SMME industry

SA power cuts hurts SMME industry

THREE of South Africa's top four lenders have warned that hours of daily power cuts could hurt small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are considered the backbone of the nation's economy. SMEs in Africa's most industrialised nation represent more than 98% of its businesses and employ more than half of its workforce, according to a McKinsey study. Issues affecting this sector could in turn further hurt the gross domestic product, which shrank a greater-than-expected 1.3% in the final three months of last year. State-utility Eskom implements daily power cuts, called load-shedding, in stages with Stage 1 being the lowest. At…
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South Africa’s power crisis: going off the grid works for the wealthy – but could deepen injustice for the poor

South Africa’s power crisis: going off the grid works for the wealthy – but could deepen injustice for the poor

SOUTH Africa’s current electricity crisis has been described as “a perfect storm”. A number of factors have converged to reach this point: an ageing and inadequately maintained fleet of coal power stations, delays in upgrading the Koeberg nuclear power station and significant failures at the recently built Medupi and Kusile coal power stations. Authors CHRISTINA CULWICK FATTI, Senior researcher, urban sustainability transitions, environmental governance and resilience, Gauteng City-Region Observatory SAMKELISIWE KHANYILE, Researcher, Gauteng City-Region Observatory Since the beginning of 2022, power utility Eskom’s inability to meet the country’s electricity demand has resulted in unprecedented load-shedding (scheduled power cuts). In 2022,…
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SA POWER OUTAGES: Robberies surge as criminals take advantage

SA POWER OUTAGES: Robberies surge as criminals take advantage

THE acute energy crisis in South Africa has adversely affected all aspects of society. Regular and lengthy power outages – which started in 2007 are also contributing to an escalation in the levels of criminal activity, especially street crime. The most recent quarterly crime statistics – have undermined an ailing economy and food security, as well as health and educational outcomes. Author GUY LAMB, Criminologist / Lecturer, Stellenbosch University It has become evident that power cuts added to a significant increase in all robbery categories – for July to September 2022 – compared to the same period in 2021. This…
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