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... 

Cesa urges coordinated action to translate infrastructure commitment into projects

Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa) has welcomed the commitment to infrastructure development as outlined in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement. However, CEO Chris Campbell says... 

Cabinet officially lifts PBMR from care and maintenance

Cabinet has officially approved the lifting of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) nuclear technology from care and maintenance. “This decision provides the South African Nuclear Energy... 

R6.7bn in savings secured under Targeted and Responsible Savings scheme

The National Treasury has started to quantify the savings it is expecting from its Targeted and Responsible Savings (TARS) initiative, which seeks to identify low-priority or underperforming... 

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... 

Godongwana outlines plans for shifting spending focus towards infrastructure

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has outlined several initiatives being undertaken to finally begin shifting the composition of government spending from consumption to capital investment,... 

Treasury confirms support for distribution agency agreements as Eskom arrear debt rises

The National Treasury has confirmed that a scheme established to enable municipalities to write of arrear debt owing to Eskom by meeting various conditions, including keeping their current accounts... 

As expected, South Africa lowers inflation target to 3%

As anticipated, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana confirmed a lowering of South Africa's inflation target to 3%, with a 1 percentage point tolerance band on either side, in his Medium-Term Budget... 

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... 

World Bank-backed ‘payment for performance’ grant launched for metros

South Africa’s eight metropolitan municipalities are now able to tap into a new National Treasury grant, backed by World Bank funding of $925-million (about R16-billion), if they are able to show... 

Seriti Green CEO on the seamless transition of coal professionals to renewables in Mpumalanga

Seriti Green CEO Peter Venn says the ease with which individuals with deep coal industry experience have transitioned into renewable energy has been a remarkable aspect of the company’s recent... 

Mega 720 MW Karoo wind project, with 100 km self-build powerline, moves towards construction

A mega-scale wind project, which includes a 100-km self-build transmission line to connect into the national grid, is steadily advancing towards construction, which is currently anticipated to...