Author: Staff Reporter

Cape Town-founded agritech start-up Aerobotics has raised $17-million in a series-B funding round led by Naspers.

Eskom has firmed up a plan to implement load shedding in Johannesburg in two-hour blocks, instead of the current four-hour interruptions, with effect from 19 January.

Eskom’s official three-month outlook for demand and generating capacity shows a high likelihood of load shedding every single week until mid-April. But there is reason for encouragement.

Residents and businesses in Johannesburg may soon find load-shedding times reduced from the current four-hour blocks, to the two-hour blocks imposed elsewhere in South Africa.

Former Openserve and Internet Solutions executive Prenesh Padayachee has been appointed as chief digital officer, replacing chief technical officer Claes Segelberg in an expanded role.

Eskom will implement rotational national blackouts, starting at midday on Thursday and running through Friday and the entire weekend.

Load shedding will be back, at stage 2, from 10pm on Wednesday, 6 January, Eskom has announced. The power cuts will be repeated on Thursday.

Eskom has taken Unit One of Koeberg offline earlier than planned for scheduled maintenance, exarcerbating the risk of regulator load shedding in the months ahead.

Eskom was scheduled to implement stage-2 load shedding from 10pm on Tuesday, despite many industries being closed for the year-end holidays and the tightened lockdown restrictions.

MTN South Africa has launched MoMo International Airtime, which allows users to purchase airtime for recipients in other countries.