Eskom latest: Union seeks to overturn state of disaster; debt

Labour union Solidarity appealed to a court to overturn the state of disaster declared by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to deal with the nation’s energy crisis.

The union is arguing that the electricity crisis does not meet the definition of a disaster in terms of the relevant legislation, existing laws can adequately manage the crisis, the declaration of a state of disaster does not serve a clear purpose and there was improper political interference in declaring the decree, it said in a statement.

“The government itself is the cause of the electricity disaster and it cannot declare itself a disaster, thereby obtaining extraordinary powers to address the disaster,” the union’s Chief Executive Officer Dirk Hermann said.

South Africa may take on R220bn Eskom debt: RMB Morgan Stanley (Feb. 14, 12:55 p.m.)

South Africa’s government will probably take on R140 billion of Eskom’s guaranteed debt in the fiscal year through March 2024, followed by an additional R50 billion and R30 billion respectively in the next two years as the power utility goes on to meet pre-determined financial and operational targets, RMB Morgan Stanley analysts led by Andrea Masia said in note published Tuesday.

South Africa plans request for proposals on battery storage (Feb. 14, 12:32 p.m.)

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy will issue a request for proposals for 513 megawatts of battery storage by the end of the month, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said in a speech to lawmakers.

It also plans to issue RFPs for 3 000 megawatts of gas-fueled generation by the end of the current financial year and up to 5 000 megawatts subject to grid capacity availability for the so-called seventh bid window.

South Africa’s energy crisis sparks money manager’s solar fund (Feb. 14, 8 a.m.)

South Africa’s ongoing energy crisis has caused rolling blackouts, weakened the South African rand and forced the declaration of a state of disaster. An alternative asset manager is touting a new fund that it says will help alleviate that crisis and make investors a healthy return.

Grovest’s Twelve B Green Energy Fund will ultimately seek to deploy as much as R1 billion annually, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Miller said in an interview, while noting its current pipeline is about a 10th of that. It will use the funds to invest in solar panels, inverters and batteries in residential complexes, commercial buildings and industrial buildings.

Biggest sulfur dioxide emitter asks to boost pollution (Feb. 13, 9:35 p.m.)

Eskom, already named as the world’s biggest sulfur dioxide emitter, is seeking approval to release more of the pollutant linked to ailments ranging from asthma to heart attacks.

The move is part of an attempt by the company to reduce the level of temporary blackouts the nation is facing as a result of its inability to meet demand.

Power cuts to continue through week (Feb. 12, 6:26 p.m.)

Eskom will cut 3 000 megawatts of power from the national grid from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 4 000 megawatts from 4 p.m. to 5 a.m. until further notice, the utility said Sunday on Twitter.

Ramaphosa blindsides ruling party with energy crisis measures (Feb. 10, 4 p.m.)

Ramaphosa blindsided the ruling African National Congress by reneging on a party resolution to place the state power utility under the control of the energy ministry and faces criticism for appointing an electricity czar within his office.

Ramaphosa declared a state of disaster Thursday over an energy crisis that is hobbling the nation’s economy. The measure will enable the government to bypass regulatory hurdles as it seeks to repair broken power plants and procure emergency electricity to end outages that have extended to as long as 12 hours a day since the start of the year.

© 2023 Bloomberg