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.
Browsing: Eskom
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.
Finance minister Tito Mboweni’s budget this week is unlikely to convince Moody’s Investors Service that he has a credible plan to rein in government debt.
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.
South Africa must make progress on structural reforms before banks like Goldman Sachs Group can help draw foreign capital to the country.
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.
South Africa received hundreds of responses to a call for 3GW of emergency power that it estimates could be brought online within two years.
South Africa’s Energy War Room, a grouping of the main cabinet ministers responsible for the power industry, will meet for the first time this week since being reconstituted by President Cyril Ramaphosa in December.
While some generating units have returned to service, the possibility of load shedding for the rest of the week remains, said Eskom.