Eskom warned that its maintenance plan must be supported by the government or South Africa can expect regular blackouts from power cuts of 8GW by mid-2021, a move that would cripple the economy.
Browsing: Energy and sustainability
South Africa’s plans to procure more electricity-generation capacity will have to wait as long as six months until the regulator has approved a state resource strategy, the nation’s energy department said.
Fuel prices will come down by between 19c and 54c/l this week. The department of mineral resources & energy has announced a 19c decrease in the price of 93 (ULP and LRP) and 95 (ULP and LRP) as of Wednesday.
Mathematical modelling can be used to show that increasing tariffs, which encourages consumers to invest in alternative energy supplies, puts Eskom at risk.
Eskom is making preparations for a 3GW gas-fired plant, but the debt-stricken utility is still awaiting formal guidelines from the government before it can proceed with the project.
Haemorrhaging cash and drowning in debt, South Africa’s state power utility is trying to persuade the energy regulator to allow it to raise its prices to offset lower-than expected sales and unforeseen expenses.
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 JSE-listed City Lodge Hotels group has invested about R20-million in solar energy at 25 of its hotels and is planning to expand the initiative to a further 12.
Minerals & energy minister Gwede Mantashe says energy regulator Nersa has already approved 75 applications from private companies wanting to generate energy for self-use.
Eskom will implement stage-2 rotational load shedding until at least Sunday, it said on Thursday. Rolling blackouts will begin at 9am and last until 6am on Sunday at the earliest.