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<p>Amid ongoing power cuts, today South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa increased the threshold for electricity self-generation for companies.</p>


Ramaphosa lifts threshold for electricity self-generation

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<p>South Africa has once again been plunged into darkness. Plagued by ageing equipment and maintenance issues, Eskom has seen breakdowns, triggering stage four of load-shedding this week. Today the power utility announced the suspension of two managers at its power stations. Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Eskom CEO on the power utility’s latest round of load-shedding

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<p>Eskom says it has sufficient coals supply to continue as normal during the 21 day lock-down. But the troubled state power utility says it can’t promise there won’t be load shedding during the period. Eskom Spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


How SA’s lock-down impacts Eskom


<p>JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Nationwide power cuts across South Africa of up to 4,000 megawatts will last indefinitely, state power firm Eskom said on Thursday, as repairs take longer than anticipated. </p>



<p>Eskom had said on Wednesday the outages would last only until Friday. </p>



<p>The latest blackouts, referred to locally as loadshedding, were triggered by breakdowns this week at a score of generating units, including at Koeberg nuclear plant in Cape Town. </p>



<p>“Due to a shortage of generation capacity resulting from unplanned breakdowns, Eskom will continue implementing Stage 4  loadshedding until further notice. We expect that loadshedding,  at various stages, may continue into the weekend,” Eskom said in a statement. </p>



<p>“The pump fault on Koeberg Unit 1 is being fixed, and it is envisaged that the unit will be back in service at the weekend. In the meantime, we continue utilising emergency generation reserves, including diesel, to supplement supply,” Eskom said. </p>



<p>Eskom has been battling repeated problems with its coal-fired power stations, prompting power cuts and dragging the economy into its second recession in as many years. </p>



<p>Mining and manufacturing data due later on Thursday are expected to reflect the impact of unreliable power supply.  </p>



<p>(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; editing by Jason Neely)</p>



<p>This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN20Z0XP-OZABS">https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN20Z0XP-OZABS</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>


Eskom says power cuts to last indefinitely


<p>JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa’s Eskom has offered some managers voluntary severance packages, capping costs at 400 million rand ($26.8 million), a communique sent to staff by the struggling power utility showed.</p>



<p>Eskom does not generate enough cash to cover its mammoth debt servicing costs and expects to make a loss of around 20 billion rand this financial year.</p>



<p>The severance packages are open to managerial employees in non-core positions as well as managers from 60 to 62 years old, according to the communique, which was dated Feb. 6.</p>



<p>Eskom spokesman Sikonathi Mantshantsha declined to comment.</p>



<p>Analysts have long said that Eskom should cut its bloated workforce of more than 46,000 staff.</p>



<p>Under pressure from trade unions, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said last year that voluntary severance packages would be the preferred method to cut costs at Eskom, rather than layoffs.</p>



<p>Eskom said in the communique that staff could apply for the severance packages from the third week of February, with employee exits planned for the end of April.</p>



<p>Eskom also offered voluntary severance packages in 2015.</p>



<p>($1 = 14.9245 rand)</p>



<p>Reporting by Alexander Winning; editing by Jason Neely</p>


South Africa’s Eskom plans to spend up to $27 million on severance packages

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Tile retailer Italtile opened the doors of 10 new stores during its interim results period with more expansion plans in the works for the next 6 months. Despite tough economic trading conditions the company’s trading profit rose steadily by 6 per cent and an interim dividend of 23 cents per share has been declared for the period. Italtile CEO, Jan Potgieter joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


This is how much retailer Italtile lost to load shedding in the last six months

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According to a report released by Primaresearch, Eskom’s power outages are not due to plant management and a lack of maintenance but rather the focus on staff costs and the need for Eskom to increase technical and engineering skills at power stations. Shamil Ismail, Director at Primaresearch joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Primaresearch: Why Eskom’s power outages go beyond plant management and maintenance issues


<p>CAPE TOWN (Reuters) &#8211; South Africa is planning to create a new power generating company separate from struggling state-owned utility Eskom to boost energy security, senior officials said on Thursday.</p>



<p>Eskom, which generates more than 90% of the country’s electricity, is mired in financial crisis and suffers frequent breakdowns at its coal-fired power plants, forcing it to implement power cuts that have dented economic output.</p>



<p>Eskom’s problems have been a major concern among investors at industry conference the Mining Indaba this week.</p>



<p>“There is going to be a separate entity to Eskom, but the issue is not Eskom or no Eskom, the issue is security of energy supply,” Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said on the sidelines of the conference in Cape Town.</p>



<p>Details surrounding the plan for the new generating company are still hazy.</p>



<p>Mantashe said he wanted industry to partner with the government on its formation, but it is not clear what that partnership would entail. It is also not clear which generating technologies it would employ.</p>



<p>Director-general in the Department of Mineral Resources, Thabo Mokoena, echoed Mantashe’s comment that the main aim of the new company would be to improve energy security but did not elaborate further.</p>



<p>Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Alexander Winning and Mark Potter</p>


South Africa plans to create new generating firm to boost power security, what you need to know


<p>JOHANNESBURG, Jan 6 (Reuters) &#8211; Eskom&#8217;s new chief executive took charge of the struggling state-owned utility on Monday, embarking on the mammoth task of fixing South Africa&#8217;s power deficit and restructuring a debt pile that has crippled the national economy.</p>



<p>Andre de Ruyter, appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in November, will oversee a government plan to split Eskom into three units for generation, transmission and distribution in an attempt to make it more efficient.</p>



<p>Ramaphosa is trying to revive growth in Africa&#8217;s most advanced economy and attract more investments. Eskom, which generates more than 90% of the country&#8217;s power, is widely regarded as the most serious risk to an economy on the brink of recession.</p>



<p>Saddled with unreliable coal-fired power stations, Eskom has struggled to meet the country&#8217;s power demand since 2007, with several bouts of severe power cuts since then. Outages last year dented economic output and shook investor confidence in Ramaphosa&#8217;s administration.</p>



<p>The country experienced further outages at the weekend, with Eskom cutting up to 2,000 megawatts (MW) from the national grid on Saturday and Sunday due to a shortage of generating capacity.</p>



<p>In a previous role as CEO of Nampak de Ruyter steered the packaging firm through financial difficulties, and part of his new brief is to restructure Eskom&#8217;s 450 billion rand ($31 billion) debt pile.</p>



<p>De Ruyter&#8217;s predecessor at Eskom, Phakamani Hadebe, stepped down in July, citing health reasons. Sources told Reuters at the time that another reason was that he felt frustrated at being excluded from important decisions affecting the utility.</p>



<p>Eskom said in a statement on Monday that roughly 13,000 megawatts (MW) of its 44,000 MW nominal capacity were offline because of plant breakdowns.</p>



<p>It said it didn&#8217;t expect &#8220;load-shedding &#8221; &#8211; a local term for power cuts &#8211; on Monday but that the system was &#8220;constrained and vulnerable&#8221;.</p>



<p>($1 = 14.3205 rand) </p>



<p>(Reporting by Alexander Winning; editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and John Stonestreet)</p>


Eskom’s new CEO takes charge with power shake-up on agenda, what you need to know…


<p>JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Plagued by power cuts and with its infrastructure in desperate need of revamping, South Africa’s struggling state power utility Eskom says the country desperately needs an additional 5,000 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity.</p>



<p>Here are some options:</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">HARNESSING POWER FROM INDEPENDENTS</h3>



<p>Eskom’s nominal generating capacity is around 44,000 MW. But it also procures electricity from independent power producers.</p>



<p>Those projects &#8211; mainly renewables like wind and solar farms &#8211; have installed capacity of around 4,000 MW of power. However, a cap on how much electricity they are allowed to sell onto the national grid means they currently have unused capacity.</p>



<p>Lifting the restriction would allow an additional 500 MW to immediately enter the grid from wind farms alone, according to wind industry officials. Harnessing unused capacity from solar projects could contribute around 300 MW more.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">MORE INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS</h3>



<p>Under former President Jacob Zuma, approval for new producers was delayed for years. Those projects finally got a green light in 2018. Some under construction could be fast-tracked and brought online before their agreed commercial operation dates.</p>



<p>The government could also accelerate a new round of planned approvals that has been held up by administrative delays. However, those projects would likely not be on-stream for more than two years.</p>



<p>SELF-GENERATION</p>



<p>Private businesses have been clamouring for regulations to be eased to allow them to generate more of their own power. They are currently required to seek a license to generate more than 1 MW of electricity. Even below that threshold they must register their facilities with the energy regulator, a cumbersome process that has discouraged investment.</p>



<p>President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government will consider how to get more self-generation online with excess production directed back onto the grid.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">“FLOATING GENERATORS”</h3>



<p>Ramaphosa has said South Africa will look at the possibility of procuring more power via “floating generators”. While he did not go into detail, barge or ship-based power plants provide quickly deployable capacity.</p>



<p>New York City, for example, has used barge-based power stations for decades.</p>



<p>In Africa, Ghana signed a 10-year&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/turkey-ghana-power/update-1-turkeys-power-ship-maker-karadeniz-to-supply-electricity-to-ghana-idUSL5N0OY1WC20140617deal">here</a>&nbsp;with Turkey&#8217;s Karadeniz Holding in 2014 for 450 MW of floating generating capacity for its national grid.</p>



<p>Russian nuclear energy giant Rosatom is, meanwhile, developing floating nuclear power stations, though they will likely not be available for commercial use for several years.</p>



<p>Reporting by Joe Bavier and Alexander Winning; Editing by Alexandra Zavis and Emelia Sithole-Matarise </p>


Here are four ways South Africa can get more power generation capacity

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<p>Mines across the country are feeling the rolling blackouts the most as operations continue to close due to load shedding from Eskom but what does this mean for mine-workers and their future? NUM President, Joseph Montisetse joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Num wants Eskom board fired for load-shedding

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<p>A lack of effective implementers or communicators around president Ramaphosa means that what slow positive change occurring is getting rapidly lost. Negative reforms and delays continue to glue business sentiment to the ground with load-shedding obscuring the slow progress. Peter Montalto, Head of Capital Markets Research at Intellidex joins CNBC Africa to discuss the reform narrative in South Africa.</p>


Is the reform narrative dying in SA?

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<p>The power cuts of South Africa will take another large bite out of mining production today in a time when the industry is struggling. Gold miner Harmony says it cancelled its underground night shift last night and the day shift this morning because of concerns over power supply. The company says it has cut back its power usage merely to maintain emergency services. Joining CNBC Africa for more is Henk Langenhoven, Chief Economist at Minerals Council South Africa and Mashego Mashego, Executive Director at Harmony Gold.</p>


This is how much load-shedding costing SA’s mining industry

This is how much load-shedding is costing SA’s mining industry


<p><em>Press Release</em></p>



<p>We regret and sincerely apologise that stage 4 loadshedding will move to Stage 6 loadshedding as from 18:00 today, as a result of a shortage of capacity. This follows a technical problem at Medupi Power Station impacting additional generation supply. The heavy rains has caused coal handling and operational problems at several power stations.</p>



<p>We remind and assure customers that loadshedding at Stage 6 is no cause for alarm as the system is being effectively controlled. Stage 6, requires 6000MW to be rotationally loadshed.</p>



<p>Eskom&#8217;s emergency response command centre and technical teams will be working through the night to restore units as soon as possible. Eskom is working closely large industry to assist with further load curtailment.</p>



<p>Loadshedding is a responsible act and highly controlled process, implemented to protect the country from a national blackout.</p>



<p>After 2015, Eskom and the municipalities identified the need to extend the loadshedding stages up to stage 8 and the national code (NRS048-9 Ed 2) was subsequently updated.</p>



<p>Even beyond these schedules, the System Operator will reduce demand in a manner that is controlled.</p>



<p>Stage 6 loadshedding schedules are available on the Eskom website.</p>



<p>Eskom will keep you updated.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="669" height="960" src="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Eskom-image.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-351888" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Eskom-image.jpg 669w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Eskom-image-209x300.jpg 209w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Eskom-image-293x420.jpg 293w" sizes="(max-width: 669px) 100vw, 669px" /></figure>


#LoadShedding: South Africa’s Eskom moves power cuts to Stage 6

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<p>State-owned power utility, Eskom, has a spin of surprises for the country as it heads towards the festive season. Just today it went from announcing stage two load-shedding to stage four.</p>


Andrew Kenny: South Africans should brace for more load-shedding over next 12 months

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<p>CNBC Africa&#8217;s Karabo Letlhatlha is live with Jorg Zwinscher the general manager of Balalaika Hotel to speak on the impact of load shedding on business.</p>


The cost of load-shedding on SA businesses


<p>JOHANNESBURG, Oct 22 (Reuters) &#8211; Crisis-hit South African power company Eskom was handed an additional 59 billion rand ($4 billion) lifeline by parliament on Tuesday, prompting criticism from opposition parties who described it as a &#8220;blank cheque&#8221;.</p>



<p>The special bill passed by parliament to grant the funding was first proposed by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni in July as Eskom struggled to service its ballooning 450 billion rand debt pile and keep the lights on throughout 2019 as its creaking fleet of coal-fired plants buckled.</p>



<p>Eskom unleashed another bout of nationwide blackouts last week following repeated power cuts in February and March, which dragged the economy into contraction.</p>



<p>Mboweni said in July that the bailout Eskom should adhere to strict conditions to receive the bailout, including assurance that it would be used only to service debt and not for operational costs.</p>



<p>The multi-party Standing Committee on Appropriation, responsible for oversight of the bill, failed to agree on the conditions and early in October opted leave the Finance Minister&#8217;s draft bill unchanged.</p>



<p>&#8220;The bill as it stands is a blank cheque that will blow up the deficit,&#8221; the main opposition Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday, echoing objections of other parties.</p>



<p>Speaking at the parliamentary debate on Tuesday Mboweni did not directly address the matter of conditions but hinted that Eskom&#8217;s management would come under closer scrutiny.</p>



<p>&#8220;One of the key issue we need to solve is to appoint the right people to run Eskom. Appoint the right board of directors and a competent management team,&#8221; he said.</p>



<p>&#8220;Then we must be in a position to hold that board of directors and management team accountable. The problem at Eskom is not just financial.&#8221;</p>



<p>Eskom has been without a permanent chief executive since Phakamani Hadebe resigned in May, citing unbearable pressure.</p>



<p>Hadebe was the 10th CEO in a decade to quit the state company in what has proved something of a revolving door of top executives and board members as treasury and presidential inquiries into graft and mismanagement deepened.</p>



<p>The special appropriation bill will go to parliament&#8217;s second house for approval before being sent to President Cyril Ramaphosa for his signature and enactment.</p>



<p>(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana and Wendell Roelf Editing by David Goodman)</p>


load shedding

Ramaphosa lifts threshold for electricity self-generation

Eskom CEO on the power utility’s latest round of load-shedding

How SA’s lock-down impacts Eskom

Eskom says power cuts to last indefinitely

South Africa’s Eskom plans to spend up to $27 million on severance packages

This is how much retailer Italtile lost to load shedding in the last six months

Primaresearch: Why Eskom’s power outages go beyond plant management and maintenance issues

South Africa plans to create new generating firm to boost power security, what you need to know

Eskom’s new CEO takes charge with power shake-up on agenda, what you need to know…

Here are four ways South Africa can get more power generation capacity

Num wants Eskom board fired for load-shedding

Is the reform narrative dying in SA?

This is how much load-shedding is costing SA’s mining industry

#LoadShedding: South Africa’s Eskom moves power cuts to Stage 6

Andrew Kenny: South Africans should brace for more load-shedding over next 12 months

The cost of load-shedding on SA businesses

What you need to know about South Africa approving $4 billion bailout for debt-laden power utility Eskom

News Tips

Advertise With Us

load shedding

Ramaphosa lifts threshold for electricity self-generation

Eskom CEO on the power utility’s latest round of load-shedding

How SA’s lock-down impacts Eskom

Eskom says power cuts to last indefinitely

South Africa’s Eskom plans to spend up to $27 million on severance packages

This is how much retailer Italtile lost to load shedding in the last six months

Primaresearch: Why Eskom’s power outages go beyond plant management and maintenance issues

South Africa plans to create new generating firm to boost power security, what you need to know

Eskom’s new CEO takes charge with power shake-up on agenda, what you need to know…

Here are four ways South Africa can get more power generation capacity

Num wants Eskom board fired for load-shedding

Is the reform narrative dying in SA?

This is how much load-shedding is costing SA’s mining industry

#LoadShedding: South Africa’s Eskom moves power cuts to Stage 6

Andrew Kenny: South Africans should brace for more load-shedding over next 12 months

The cost of load-shedding on SA businesses

What you need to know about South Africa approving $4 billion bailout for debt-laden power utility Eskom

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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