The 2014 electricity blackouts in have brought into stark relief the failure by government, the Department of Energy, the Department of Public Enterprises, Eskom and municipalities to provide an adequate and sustainable electricity supply to meet the growing needs of the country, the economy and its people. The 1998 Government White Paper on Energy […]
Following a week of severe load shedding, which threw residential, commercial and industrial consumers into a panic, Tshediso Matona, Eskom’s chief executive, said that although the system is “living on the edge”, the electricity shortage is not a crisis but a challenge to the utility. Matona was speaking at a media briefing on 8 […]
Sir This time of the year, as everything winds down (except load-shedding), as old cracks become jokes and rains traditionally flood coal stockpiles (but water remains in short supply), while rock painted black is peddled as coal, when water seeps into cable casings and maintenance and – particularly – catering budgets, are overstretched, is […]
At its interim financial results presentation for the period 1 April to 30 September 2014, which was held on 25 November 2014, Eskom announced further delays in first synchronisation of Unit 6 (the first generation unit to be synchronised to the grid) at Medupi power station. The project team at Eskom and the minister […]
Cookhouse Wind Farm, recently completed all required performance tests and grid compliance to reach commercial operations, making it the first project in round 1 of the REIPPP programme to connect to the transmission network. Located near the town of Cookhouse in the Eastern Cape, the farm has 66, 80 m tall turbines, with a […]
I look over my shoulder and wonder where 2014 has gone. IESSA has been working hard to recruit new members and to complete a number of standards and guides for the industry, which will be published by SANS soon. The branch committees and the PR Committee have done well by holding many interesting meetings […]
Public works minister Thulas Nxesi says government cannot deliver the National Development Plan (NDP) alone and the engineering fraternity must assist it in delivering the priorities of the NDP. Delivering his keynote address at the recent Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) Conference, Nxesi said the challenge at the moment is that of infrastructure delivery. “The […]
For the past 25 years, the Eskom eta Awards have been recognising and rewarding excellence in energy efficiency. This year the standard of entries shows that energy efficiency and the green movement have entered the mainstream and make business sense. The awards encourage entries across a variety of spectrums, including the commercial, industrial, residential, […]
It is hard not to be depressed about Eskom. The utility is not just another state-owned enterprise (SOE) in perpetual crisis; it is far more important than that. It represents almost our entire electricity system. Electricity is the foundation of our economy and frankly, the foundation of our broader society. If SAA doesn’t work, use […]
Eskom predicts that it will post a net loss of R8,8-billion for the six month period from September 2014. This loss will virtually wipe out the utility’s R9,3-billion profit by 31 March 2015, undermine the utility’s capex and opex budgets, and put the utility’s sustainability at risk. Speaking at Eskom’s interim financial results presentation on […]
