Eskom says power supply very tight
Times LIVE 19 March 2013 South African power utility Eskom said on Monday that available spare supply on its electricity network had fallen to just over 1 percent of total capacity due to a sharp increase in unplanned outages. In a bi-weekly status update, Eskom said it had 31,708 MW of capacity for the M
Outages cost mines R481 million
Times Live 19 March 2013 Anglo Gold Ashanti and Sibanye Gold have lost about R481 million after a power outage caused by a lightning strike at an Eskom substation last week forced them to close large operations, according to a report. Business Day newspaper reported on Tuesday that while the outage at the
Eskom issues disconnection notices as municipal arrears pile up
Engineering News Online 19 March 2013 State-owned electricity utility Eskom has confirmed that a number of municipalities in the Free State, North West, Mpumalanga and, more recently, Gauteng are facing possible bulk supply disconnections, owing to nonpayment of arrears debt. Arrears debt of older than 30
New blow to Eskom as software for Medupi fails
Business Day Live 18 March 2013 THE construction of Eskom’s Medupi power plant has hit another major obstacle with the bombshell that critical software for the operating system being developed by French contractor Alstom has failed three tests. Read more
Asia Report: Suntech Debt, Chinese Solar Saga Still Playing Out
RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD.COM 12 March 2013 Suntech has managed to delay a major bond payment for another two months until May 15, but there’s still considerable buzz surrounding the company and this $541 million debt deadline, widely anticipated as a major test of China’s drive to consolidate it
Eskom keeps eye on coal strikes
Business Report 11 March 2013 Production has ground to a halt at another operation of diversified mining house Exxaro Resources after unprotected strikes at two collieries spread to a third coal mine last week, raising fears of mounting pressure on Eskom’s fuel supply. Read more
Solar Photovoltaic Demand to Reach 31 Gigawatts in 2013
RENEWABLE ENERGY WORLD.COM 11 March 2013 Another year of single-digit growth forecast for the PV industry, with China, Japan, and India accounting for 36% of global demand. Solar photovoltaic (PV) demand will increase two gigawatts (GW), from 29 GW to 31 GW during 2013, up 7 percent Y/Y according
Infrastructure impact to be muted until supportive conditions created for private investment
Engineering News Online 8 March 2013 Constant assurances form senior government leaders, including President Jacob Zuma, that public sector infrastructure spending is gaining momentum have done little to dispel the notion that the multibillion-rand investment drive is failing – as with so much else in
OECD critical of SA plan to limit coal exports, keep prices below export-parity levels
Engineering News Online 05 March 2013 The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has described as “misplaced” the South African government’s fear that higher international coal prices will result in additional exports and leave Eskom unable to secure sufficient coal to maintain
Solar batteries could be utilities' next headache
Times Live 08 March 2013 Renewable energy is constantly evolving and challenging traditional utilities but one growing sector could make home-generated power much easier to use and cut customers’ dependence on energy companies dramatically – solar batteries. A major conundrum with solar pane
