Eskom latest: more outages in SA after plant breakdown

Eskom will remove 2 000 megawatts from the electricity grid at 9 a.m. until further notice, after a generating unit at the Duvha power plant broke down and the return to service of another facility was delayed, the utility said in an emailed statement.

Despite installed capacity of more than 40 000 megawatts, Eskom is unable to provide regular electricity because its old coal-fired plants keep failing. The utility has implemented power rationing on 151 days this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Tanzania Pitches $18 Billion Renewables Plan For Southern Africa

Tanzanian President Samia Hassan will present an $18 billion plan to build renewable power generation in southern Africa at talks in Egypt as leaders from the continent seek to increase climate financing in the region.

Under the proposal, a bloc of 12 countries in the region would increase generation by about 8.4 gigawatts from sources such as solar and wind, Tanzanian Energy Minister January Makamba said in an interview. Hassan is scheduled to host a meeting of leaders and financial institutions on Tuesday at the COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

South Africa’s Plan to Exit Coal Offers Template for Green Shift (Nov. 7, 6:10 p.m.)

South Africa and its investment partners launched an $8.5 billion plan to shift from coal toward green energy at the COP27 climate summit, in a potentially landmark deal for the transition away from fossil fuels.

The Just Energy Transition Plan — backed by the UK, US, France, Germany and the European Union — is seen as a blueprint for other coal-dependent developing nations to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. The plan for South Africa envisages 90% of the funds being used to decommission coal-fired power plants in tandem with developing renewable energy generation and strengthening grid infrastructure.

South Africa Coal Site Gets $497 Million for Clean Energy Switch (Nov. 4, 11:43 a.m.)

A coal-fired plant in South Africa that shut its last unit this week secured $497 million from the World Bank and other funders to generate renewable energy from the site, a project that will serve as a working model for the transition away from fossil fuels.

The move toward cleaner energy is particularly complex in South Africa, which has chronic electricity shortages, is the world’s 13th-biggest source of greenhouse-gas emissions and has one of the highest unemployment rates. Eskom generates more than 80% of the nation’s power from coal, produced at mines that employ about 90 000 workers.

Ramaphosa Reiterates Nuclear Power Commitment, Debt Takeover Plan (Nov. 3, 5:48 p.m.)

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa provided little fresh insight into what the government is doing to address record power outages when he addressed lawmakers on Thursday. He reiterated a commitment to transition to renewable electricity, while stressing that nuclear power will remain a part of the future energy mix. The country can’t afford to shut down Koeberg, its sole atomic plant, so will refurbish it to extend its lifespan, he said.

Finance Minister Clarifies Comments on Eskom Debt (Nov. 3, 5 p.m.)

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said media reports stating that he’d linked the government’s plans to take over part of Eskom’s debt to the power utility building new coal, gas and nuclear plants were incorrect.

The point the minister was making is “that South Africa’s energy transition will not be an immediate and wholesale abandonment of the country’s existing electricity sources, but a phasing-out of fossil fuels that may also involve transitional measures to maintain current coal and nuclear plants, and also the use of transitional sources like gas,” his office said in a statement.

“The fundamental purpose of the National Treasury’s plan to takeover a portion of Eskom’s debt is to allow the utility to focus on and invest in increasing its generation capacity,” it said.

FNB sees Power Cuts Crimping Economic Growth (Nov. 3, 2:55 p.m.)

South Africa’s economy is forecast to expand just 1.5% in 2023,  down from 1.9% this year, with blackouts expected to shave 40 basis points off the growth rate, First National Bank’s Chief Economist Mamello Matikinca told reporters in Johannesburg.