25-year deal signed for new Port of Durban LPG terminal

A 25-year terminal operator agreement to develop and operate a new R1.4-billion liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal at the Port of Durban’s Island View precinct has been concluded. The deal was... 

Nersa reinforces shift to competitive electricity market as it approves market operator licence and new grid rules

The Energy Regulator, which is the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) highest decision-making body, has made three landmark decisions in support of the country’s legislated... 

I saw the crescent . . .

As the sun sets on 2025, South Africa’s long-awaited recovery is becoming visible like the first sliver of a waxing crescent days after a new moon. While still modest, the 0.5% GDP expansion in the... 

Umoyilanga hybrid power station targets full operations in 2026 as Dassiesridge is completed

The 75 MW Umoyilanga hybrid project, which combines solar, wind and battery storage technologies across two sites to produce dispatchable electricity, has taken a step closer to its full commercial... 

Cabinet backs six-pillar Critical Minerals Strategy Implementation Plan

South Africa’s Critical Minerals Strategy Implementation Plan has been approved by Cabinet, which claims it will significantly contribute to economic growth and job creation. In May, Cabinet... 

Cabinet approves draft Gas Bill for processing by Parliament

Cabinet approved the submission of the draft Gas Bill 2025 to Parliament for further processing at its last scheduled meeting for 2025, which took place on December 5. Minister in The Presidency... 

DCT Pier 2 partnership with ICTSI to begin in Jan as 25-year deal is inked

An agreement has been signed opening the way for the launch on January 1 of the much-delayed 25-year private sector participation (PSP) deal between International Container Terminal Services... 

NTCSA outlines envisaged role for new TSO sans grid assets

The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA), which is set to remain an Eskom Holdings subsidiary and owner of the transmission assets, has moved to explain the role of the... 

New Eskom unbundling strategy delinks grid assets from future transmission system operator

A new Eskom unbundling strategy, which uncouples the grid assets from the system operator role to be performed by a separate and yet-to-be-established transmission system operator (TSO), has been... 

SAPVIA sees ongoing solar market recovery laying basis for industrialisation, but warns against narrow focus on modules

The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) says demand for solar PV in 2025 continued to recover from the 2024 slowdown, which followed on from the loadshedding-induced surge of... 

Eskom promises not to impose burdens on other customers as it inks MoU to support embattled ferrochrome smelters

Eskom has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Samancor Chrome and the Glencore–Merafe Chrome Venture in a bid to finalise an electricity tariff solution that prevents the closure of... 

Unilever South Africa lifts local content to 80% as it moves to embed supply-chain resilience

The producer of a diverse range of well-known household brands – from Sunlight soap and OMO washing powder, to Vaseline and Robertsons Spices – reports that it has increased the local content in... 

New battery manufacturing body wants local content designated in large industrial and utility-scale projects

Six local lithium battery and inverter manufacturers have joined forces to form the South African Battery Manufacturers Association (SABMA) in an effort to raise awareness of the country’s energy... 

Eskom prioritises 14 municipalities for Distribution Agency Agreements to tackle R105bn arrear debt

Eskom has identified 14 municipalities for the implementation of five-year Distribution Agency Agreements (DAAs), a controversial mechanism for dealing with arrear debt owed to the utility that now... 

Marokane wants South Africa’s grid plan to be coupled to larger regional plan

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane has called for South Africa’s Transmission Development Plan (TDP) to be complemented by a “regional TDP” to support the development of the grid infrastructure required to... 

Shift in mood

The complex and multidimensional nature of life in any country means that more than one thing is invariably true at the same time. Moreover, these truths can be highly contradictory, or as Charles... 

CEF faces probing questions from lawmakers on plan to revive refineries

The Central Energy Fund (CEF) group of companies faced sceptical questioning this week from lawmakers over plans to revive the Sapref refinery in Durban and PetroSA’s gas-to-liquids (GTL) refinery... 

R3.4bn investment positions Traxtion for 2026 entry onto South Africa’s freight rail network

Private railways company Traxtion expects to begin operating on South Africa’s mainline network by the third quarter of 2026 after concluding a R3.4-billion rolling stock investment programme. The... 

R112bn cost savings target in focus as new Eskom board takes office

Eskom chairperson Mteto Nyati has underlined the importance of reducing the State-owned group’s cost base as a newly constituted board takes over from the one appointed in October 2022. The... 

Industrial gas users call for Presidency-led intervention to avert ‘gas cliff’

The Industrial Gas Users Association–South Africa (IGUA-SA) is calling for the creation of a new structure under The Presidency to coordinate the actions needed to avert the ‘gas cliff’ faced by... 

Age of Electricity is here, IEA declares as it highlights energy security threats

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has declared that the “Age of Electricity is here” in its latest World Energy Outlook, which again underlines that electricity demand will grow much faster... 

Rooted in reality?

When South Africa transitioned to democracy in the 1990s, and when climate constraints were not yet on the agenda, energy policy was arguably the country’s main industrial policy lever. The country... 

Nersa reinforces shift to competitive electricity market as it approves market operator licence and new grid rules

The Energy Regulator, which is the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) highest decision-making body, has made three landmark decisions in support of the country’s legislated... 

New industry-led GasHub created to pool demand and catalyse new supply

Twenty-two industrial gas users from the glass, metal, food manufacturing, mining and chemical sectors have formally launched a demand aggregator known as GasHub in a bid to develop the... 

South Africa unpacks big pricing and load factor changes to inaugural gas-to-power procurement

Significant amendments to the request for proposal (RFP) documentation for South Africa’s much-delayed procurement of 2 000 MW of gas-to-power capacity have been unpacked, including an updated fuel... 

South Africa still in talks with US to cut reciprocal tariffs as it prioritises ‘butterfly strategy’ to raise exports to R3tr

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) has again confirmed that it is continuing with its negotiations with the US in a bid to reduce the 30% reciprocal tariffs that have been... 

Itac to submit steel tariff review to Minister as it calls for comment on more changes

The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) has confirmed that it has made a final determination in relation to a far-reaching review of steel tariffs and will now... 

Eskom prioritises 14 municipalities for Distribution Agency Agreements to tackle R105bn arrear debt

Eskom has identified 14 municipalities for the implementation of five-year Distribution Agency Agreements (DAAs), a controversial mechanism for dealing with arrear debt owed to the utility that now... 

Industry calls for minimum local-content specifications in private grid projects

Following consultations with the Department of Energy and Electricity (DEE) on an initiative to procure new grid infrastructure from private consortiums, local Industry has again urged government... 

Policy uncertainty could lead to future energy transition funding gap in South Africa – report

A new study that assesses the investments required to achieve electricity security in South Africa by 2050 while also meeting the country’s decarbonisation goals has reaffirmed that the least-cost... 

Important shift

There are signs that the long-promised change to the composition of government spending – from consumption to capital investment – is at last taking shape. In his Medium-Term Budget Policy... 

Ramaphosa doubles down on ‘Equality, Solidarity and Sustainability’ theme in B20 address

President Cyril Ramaphosa doubled down on South Africa’s G20 Presidency theme of ‘Equality, Solidarity and Sustainability’ in an address to the B20 on the eve of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in... 

Eskom welcomes DAA endorsement to tackle R105bn municipal arrear debt

Eskom has welcomed Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s formal endorsement of the Distribution Agency Agreement (DAA) intervention for addressing municipal arrear debt, which had climbed to... 

Nersa initiates first municipal tariff review following adverse court ruling

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has initiated the review process for municipal tariff applications for the 2026/27 financial year, which begins on July 1 2026, setting a... 

Presidency official links reforms to lifting fixed investment to 20% of GDP

Raising gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) to between 18% and 20% of GDP is key to lifting growth to the 3% target, The Presidency’s project management office head Rudi Dicks argues. While also... 

Marokane wants South Africa’s grid plan to be coupled to larger regional plan

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane has called for South Africa’s Transmission Development Plan (TDP) to be complemented by a “regional TDP” to support the development of the grid infrastructure required to... 

Necsa to seek PBMR partner after technology is lifted from care and maintenance

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) has indicated that it will move to assess what remains of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) intellectual property, which was mothballed in... 

Department says electrification scheme to be ‘repurposed’ to tackle R75bn backlog by 2030

The Department of Electricity and Energy has provided additional information about its proposal to repurpose the Integrated National Electrification Programme (INEP) to meet the country’s 2030... 

Latest renewables survey points to strong 220 GW development pipeline

The latest edition of the South African Renewable Energy Grid Survey (SAREGS) has again confirmed that there is a strong and growing development pipeline of solar PV, wind, battery and hybrid... 

Scrap continues

When ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) initially announced in January that it would be closing the Newcastle mill and winding down its long-steel businesses in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and...