Category: Energy and Power

Water and Sanitation Minister, Senzo Mchunu, has committed to increase the bulk water allocation to the Rand Water system.

This is part of emergency measures to address water shortages in Gauteng metros, district and local municipalities.

“We note the increase in water usage and restrictions imposed by Rand Water in response to deteriorating water levels in their reservoirs. Therefore, we will increase temporarily the allocation for abstraction of bulk water to Rand Water’s system in order to meet the demand,” Mchunu said.

He said this should bring relief to some metros, including Johannesburg, Tshwane and Mogale City District Municipalities.

Mchunu said the measure is for a period of nine months, while the department seeks more permanent solutions to water usage and management.

Mchunu held an emergency meeting on Monday to engage with Rand Water, representatives of all three metros, district and local municipalities of Gauteng affected by water restrictions.

According to Rand Water, the utility currently abstracts 4 400 mega litres of water, and has already exceeded this allocation by over 1 600 megalitres since the beginning of spring.

The Minister said while the increased allocation will bring some relief, municipalities need to come up with measures to deal with water wastage, including imposing penalties and addressing the challenge of water leaks in municipal reticulation systems.

“As a country, we are experiencing the scarcity of water, yet we allow for up to 40% of our water to be lost to leakage. This undermines our efforts to address water challenges,” the Minister said.

Water Room committee

A Water Room committee, including the department, Rand Water and all Gauteng municipalities, as well as the business sector, will be set up to provide a holistic coordination, provision and management of the water system in the province.

The Minister noted that water use has risen in recent weeks due to the heatwave, which has been happening in this period over the last two to three years, compounded by delayed summer rains in the inland provinces, leading to people using potable water for uses that would have normally been taken care of by rains.

These include watering gardens and car wash enterprises, as well as water losses due to leaks in the reticulation part of the system.

“There continues to be overuse in the province, which puts a strain on the system. This does not imply that there is a crisis of water availability but is rather a means to manage the system through reduction, bringing balance to the system,” Mchunu said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

DWS to host 4th public commentary for National Pricing Strategy for Raw Water Use

The Department of Water and Sanitation will host its fourth public commentary for the National Pricing Strategy for Raw Water Use.

Members of the public and water sector stakeholders are invited to make inputs on the revised pricing strategy.

The revised pricing strategy caters to five water resource charges, namely: Water Resource Management Charge, Water Resources Infrastructure Charges, Waste Mitigation Charge, Water Research Levy and Economic Regulation Charge.

The pricing Strategy was gazetted on 5 August 2022 and interested parties have until 3 November 2022 to make comments.

Source: Government of South Africa

Minister Mchunu to host an urgent meeting with municipalities over concerns of water use in Gauteng

Water and Sanitation Minister, Hon. Senzo Mchunu, will on Monday 17th October, engage with the municipalities of Gauteng Province affected by Rand Water’s water restrictions. The meeting will be between the Ministry, DWS, Rand Water represented by the Chairperson and CEO, all three Metros, as well as affected District and Local municipalities.

As water use has risen in recent weeks due to the continued heatwave which has been happening in this period over the last two to three years, delayed summer rains in the inland provinces leading to people using potable water for uses that would have been taken care of by rains, e.g., watering gardens and car was enterprises which could be having rainwater harvesting jojo tanks, as well as water losses due to leaks in the reticulation part of the system.

There continues to be overuse in the province which puts a strain on the system that led to Rand Water having to inform their customers of the need to restrict. This does not imply that there is a crisis of water availability but is rather a means to manage the system through reduction and therefore bringing balance to the system.

Source: Government of South Africa

Minister Mantashe to address the Africa Energy Week

The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Mr Gwede Mantashe (MP) will deliver a keynote address at the 2022 Africa Energy Week set to take place from 18 to 21 October at the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town.

Convened under the theme: “Exploring and Investing in Africa’s Energy Future while Driving an Enabling Environment,” the four-day conference brings

together African energy leaders, global investors, and executives from across the public and private sectors to robustly engage on the future of the African energy industry.

Source: Government of South Africa

Eskom has signed leasing contracts with four renewable energy companies to build new renewable energy facilities on land owned by the power utility.

The four companies – HDF Energy SA, Red Rocket SA, Sola Group and Mainstream Renewable Power Developments SA – are expected to be connected to the national grid within 24 to 36 months and contribute some 2000MW to the grid.

The final capacity that these projects will contribute will be determined following comprehensive feasibility studies by the companies.

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter said the land is near the Majuba and Tutuka Power Stations in Mpumalanga, allowing for easier access to the grid.

“We have responded to the call by President Cyril Ramaphosa to come up with ambitious, bold and urgent responses to the energy crisis. We are delighted that we are able to be the enabler of the rapid addition of new generation capacity which the country sorely needs.

“What makes this different is that unlike the bid window process that is run by the IPP [Independent Power Producers] office, there is no requirement for Eskom to sign a power purchase agreement. So there’s no onerous obligation, there’s no price negotiation. This is the beginning of an electricity market which enabled by the President’s announcement on the 25th of July this year lifting the cap on licensing for new generation capacity,” de Ruyter said on Friday.

He added that because “Eskom is not the buyer of electricity” there was no need to obtain a Treasury guarantee for these investments and the agreements do not present “any risk to the taxpayer”.

De Ruyter said that the build of these new plants will bring billions of rand in investments and add jobs to Mpumalanga.

“For this tranche we are looking at an investment of about R40 billion at least in total. These investments will take place in Mpumalanga, in the heart of coal country.

“[This] proves that renewable energy and coal fired generation can co-exist. This is a question of putting together an energy mix for South Africa that is sensible, appropriate and that meets the needs of the country as well as creating much needed jobs by generating clean electricity in a province that has unemployment that is substantially higher than the national average,” he said.

The CEO said Eskom will be releasing further tranches of its land for leasing as “our contribution to enabling the rapid resolution of South Africa’s electricity challenge”.

Eskom says the next phase of land to be made available will be focused on the property around Kendal and Kusile power stations also in Mpumalanga and the retired Ingagane power station in KwaZulu-Natal.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, says Africa cannot be an import destination for refined products when the continent is endowed with crude oil.

The Minister said while major oil companies are withdrawing from Africa’s downstream sector, there have been new oil discoveries on the continent, South Africa being no exception.

“Discoveries of significant oil and gas in our neighbouring SADC member countries are encouraging. They will strengthen energy, support other by-products, such as fertilisers, to boost agricultural production. This means we must invest in beneficiation to boost manufacturing,” he said.

The Minister was addressing about 2 000 delegates at the official opening of the Africa Oil Week conference in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Africa Oil Week is an annual conference that brings together petroleum industry captains, government leaders, academia, and non-governmental organisations to deliberate on various matters in the oil and gas sector.

The weeklong Africa Oil Week conference is held under the theme, ‘Sustainable Growth in a Low-Carbon Market’.

Mantashe told delegates that Africa’s oil and gas resources can help accelerate and guarantee the continent’s energy security, and drive regional economic development through the processing and beneficiation of petroleum products.

“For a continent that consumes two thirds of her oil produce, exporting the remaining third – according to the Africa Energy Outlook 2022 Report – [this means] attempts of the European Union to move away from Russian gas imports are an opportunity for Africa’s oil and gas to earn her income through exports into Europe.”

Mantashe said imported refined products risk Africa’s economies and expose it to unreliable supply.

“They adversely force us to invest in import infrastructure, not domestic processing. South Africa has set an ambitious programme to attract local and international investment in oil and gas exploration and production. This complements our exploration strategy in mining, aimed at minerals for clean energy technologies,” the Minister said.

Decarbonising

As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, the Mantashe said that South Africa is committed to the global agenda to decarbonise.

He emphasised that transition to a low carbon economy must include energy security, regard for human lives and sustainability, job security, and economic growth and development.

“Transition from high carbon to low carbon emission must be managed systematically. It must include support and use of gas and renewable energy, and other energy sources, while at the same time scaling down our country’s previous over-reliance on coal,” he said.

Mantashe emphasised that the meeting should therefore help the continent to forge partnerships, including government-government, and government-business.

“We should speak in one voice about Africa’s choice for her energy pathway; one that is just, is about her people, her fauna and flora, and her economic well-being. This includes food security,” he said.

Effects of ongoing Eastern Europe conflict

Mantashe said Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine has proven to be detrimental to developing economies.

He said scarcity and high-energy costs, increasing food prices, and ever-rising interest rates have become commonplace.

“South Africa, like other countries, saw the cost of refined products reaching record levels. This necessitated our government to release its strategic stock, thus forgo revenue in the order of US $750 million. These developments are likely to deter investment in areas of oil and gas due to the cost of credit that could lead to risk aversion among investors.”

The Minister said this adverse reality is compounded by the pressures brought to bear by climate change and the need to decarbonise, which sits uncomfortably next to energy poverty, the urgency for improved human development, the desire for technological advance and the overall imperative to industrialise.

“In this context, the President of the World Bank recently warned that inflation, slow growth, lower productivity, higher interest rates and the drain on global energy supplies in advanced economies, likely to persist beyond 2023, pose a huge risk to developing countries. Therefore, there is a need for new micro and macro pathways, because the status quo is not an option.”

Source: South African Government News Agency