South Africa needs to conserve significantly more
energy, writes Lynley Donnelly
Eskom is a national presence that is represented throughout the country by massive cooling towers that dominate rural landscapes
The power utility has recorded a near R10-billion loss mainly through its exposure to the aluminium market.
An urgent meeting of the President’s National Stakeholders Advisory Council on Electricity should be held, Business Unity South Africa said on Friday.
Eskom on Thursday reported one of the biggest full-year losses in its history and warned power supply was still tight despite a decline in usage.
Eskom postponed projects worth R7-billion this year as it battles to raise funds for its expansion programme, the utility was reported as saying.
Eskom on Thursday confirmed that a wage agreement had been reached with representative unions, thereby averting a threatened strike.
South Africa needs at least 40 new coal mines to prevent shortages over the long term, Eskom operations head Brian Dames said in an interview.
The chief negotiator from the National Union of Mineworkers said on Monday he did not see an imminent strike at Eskom.
The National Union of Mineworkers said on Saturday it was considering a wage offer from Eskom after marathon talks the previous day.
Eskom voiced hope ahead of talks on Friday of averting a strike that could paralyse Africa’s biggest economy.
As the Telkom workers’ strike action gains momentum, Eskom workers are vowing to plunge the country into darkness next week.
Ilham Rawoot reports on how far has South Africa has to go to meet its energy mix targets
Eskom workers have begun preparing to strike as early as Monday, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Wednesday.
Eskom is now playing catch-up after five years in which it built no power stations.
The environmental impact assessment reports released by Eskom consultants on three proposed nuclear stations read as tendentious propaganda.
The National Press Club has declared the Congress of the People and Eskom joint winners of its newsmaker of the year 2008 award.
Two 4 800MW power plants Eskom is constructing are on track, and it expects to seek approval from the board for a third plant in December.
Many South Africans are cutting down on electricity consumption after Eskom was granted a 31% tariff hike, a survey has found.
Eskom has put plans in place in case several of its generators trip, it said on Tuesday but added the power supply in the country for now was stable.
SA’s power regulator on Thursday granted Eskom a 31,3% tariff rise for the 2009-10 financial year, falling just short of the firm’s request for 34%.
Electricity parastatal Eskom is guilty of price discrimination, economist Mike Schussler said on Friday.
Energy Minister Dipuo Peters says that measures must be put in place to shield the poor from an electricity price increase requested by Eskom.
Eskom said on Monday that power supply is still vulnerable and could worsen if it fails to get a tariff increase to fund its expansion.
Eskom’s application for a 34% price hike is for the benefit of South Africa, the parastatal’s chief executive, Jacob Maroga, said on Monday.
Johannesburg residents will be expected to cough up 30% more for their electricity if the council approves the budget for the 2009/10 financial year.
The National Consumer Forum will request the National Energy Regulator to reject Eskom’s 34% price hike, it said on Tuesday.
Eskom, seeking to expand power generation capacity in Africa’s biggest economy, has applied to raise tariffs by a nominal 34%.
SA’s economy will remain lacklustre this year, helping to cool inflation, although expected electricity price increases pose a risk to the outlook.
Eskom, which has delayed an application for a tariff increase, is in danger of missing a July 1 deadline for any tariff hike to be implemented.
Eskom may need to approach the government for yet more support to help fund its R384-billion investment programme, its head was quoted as saying.
Eskom is likely to apply to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa for a 34% increase in electricity tariffs for the coming year.