Category: Industry

The Ministries of Water in both South Africa and Lesotho have agreed to fast track phase two of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) to ensure security of supply to the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS).

This follows a meeting between Minister Senzo Mchunu, Deputy Minister Dikeledi Magadzi and Minister Kemiso Mosenene from Lesotho to discuss matters relating to challenges hindering the completion of the project, while agreeing on solutions to fast track its completion.

The meeting took place in Pretoria on Thursday.

The LHWP entails harnessing the waters of the Orange–Senqu River in the Lesotho highlands through the construction of a series of dams for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

Phase I of the LHWP was completed in 2003 and Phase 2 is presently underway.

“South Africa is a water scarce country, therefore, the completion of Phase 2 of the project has to be fast-tracked in order to augment the IVRS,” said Mchunu.

The project, the Minister said, should be successfully done by 2027 or earlier.

In agreement, Mosenene emphasised that Phase 2 of the project requires collaborated efforts and commitment from both governments.

“Water is life and no human being can survive without it. It is for this reason that the team working on the project bears in mind the needs of those that must be served with clean water. We all have to ensure that work is being carried out and done so effectively,” said Minister Mosenene.

Meanwhile, the Lesotho Highlands Water Commission committed to deliver a quality project within the set timeframe and budget allocated.

Magadzi emphasised the importance of adhering to the treaty and related protocols guiding the LHWP.

“We can only successfully complete this project if we continue to work hand in glove and with the same mandate in mind, which is the delivery of water to those in need,” Magadzi said.

The water transfer component of Phase 2 of the LHWP comprises approximately a 165-m high concrete faced rockfill dam at Polihali downstream of the confluence of the Khubelu and Senqu (Orange) Rivers and an approximately 38-km long concrete-lined gravity tunnel connecting the Polihali reservoir to the Katse reservoir.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Power utility Eskom has assured the public that its power systems are not on the brink of collapse.

This as the utility implemented stage four load shedding earlier this week due to the loss of at least 15 000MW of energy at power stations.

“Load shedding is implemented as a last resort to maintain the stability of the power system regardless of the stage of load shedding as the power system remains to be effectively controlled.

“Eskom would like to assure the public that there is very low probability of a system collapse, and therefore, no cause for alarm,” the entity said.

Meanwhile, the power utility has downgraded load shedding to stage two today (Friday) after bringing some generation units back into service by Thursday evening.

“The Koeberg, Medupi, Kriel, Duvha, Kusile and Tutuka power stations returned to service, helping to ease the current capacity constraints. Unfortunately, during this time, a unit each at Majuba and Arnot power stations tripped while a single unit at Matla was forced to shut down.

“While this allowed space to reduce the utilisation of emergency generation reserves, it is, however, still insufficient to end the current load shedding. The next two days will be used to further improve the emergency reserves in preparation for the week ahead.”

Source: South African Government News Agency

Twenty-five companies are expected to add at least 2583MW of energy to South Africa’s electricity grid once their renewable energy projects are complete, says Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe.

The 25 companies were named as successful bidders for the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s (DMRE) fifth bid window of its Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement (REIPPP) Programme.

The 25 renewable energy projects are expected to inject at least R50 billion into the economy and create about 13 900 jobs during and after construction.

Mantashe cautioned that although this is a positive step for further securing electricity supply, the 25 chosen bidders will only add power to the grid once the projects are completed.

“Sometimes…we normally create an impression that if you open up a bid window, this weekend there will be electricity in the grid. It takes up to 36 months for electricity to be in the grid. The reason for that is that if you are announced as a winning bidder, you have to construct that capacity of energy.

“The immediate solution to our electricity supply challenges lies in getting existing plants to perform in a predictable and stable manner,” he said as he made the announcement on Thursday.

The DMRE is expected to also sign agreements for energy procurement for the shorter term.

“In addition, we have selected 11 preferred bidders totalling to 1995MW under the…emergency procurement of energy and these preferred bidders are expected to be connected to the grid within the next 18 months after signing the commercial agreement,” Mantashe said.

The department also expects to procure another 160MW of energy from existing renewable energy projects.

The Minister also moved to dispel reports that government had not added any extra power generation capacity to the grid.

“Since the promulgation of the first IRP [Integrated Resource Plan] in 2011, the DMRE has taken on a number of projects to supplement the power generation supply from Eskom. To date we have procured and signed agreements with 93 independent power producer projects totalling 7308MW. The total of these bid windows have already been connected to the grid and supply 6855MW [of energy]. This is equivalent to two Eskom six pack coal fired power stations,” he said.

Mantashe said the department will pursue financial close with the bidders over the next six months.

Bid window six is expected to open no later than January 2022.

Empowerment

On the empowerment front, Mantashe explained that economic empowerment targets for Black people – in particular Black women had been set and achieved.

In addition, bidders also committed to procuring components from local manufacturers during project builds.

“The bid window five set out a number of key economic development targets. The DMRE not only requires participation by Black South Africans at project level but also requires participation across the entire renewable energy value chain.

“We must begin to see real owners who are South African and who are Black and that process takes its own time and we are very patient with it,” he said.

“These projects will continue to make a big difference – not only in the lives of those communities in the vicinity of the proposed power plants who will own 2.5% of the preferred bidder projects – the preferred bidders have committed a total of R2.7 billion towards socio-economic development, enterprise and skills development initiatives over the 20 year lifetime of the projects,” he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Government has reiterated its commitment to changing the socio-economic landscape of the country through the work done in Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

The Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Fikile Majola, on Thursday visited the site of the proposed Fetakgomo-Tubatse Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Steelpoort, Limpopo.

“We have to change the way we operate, and urgently seek innovative ways to lead the province and this district out of the current economic challenges.

“The existing and projected mining and beneficiation outlook for the Platinum Group of Metals (PGMs) and chrome drives the establishment of the proposed Fetakgomo-Tubatse SEZ,” Majola said.

According to Majola, the proposed SEZ is conceived as a one-stop world class integrated sector-specific SEZ for providing products and related services addressing the entire range of mining input suppliers, the PGMs and chrome beneficiation value chains.

“This includes both the upstream and downstream beneficiation, general manufacturing product-value add and logistics.

“We must forge ahead with the construction of the new economy that will offer new opportunities to all our people. Sharing of wealth and opportunities should be at the top of our agenda,” Majola said.

He said government’s objective is to achieve an inclusive economy, and this cannot be realised if townships and rural areas are not meaningful participants in the mainstream economy.

“We remain convinced that this is the key element of an inclusive economic growth trajectory which can lift our people from poverty, cultivate entrepreneurial potential, establish dynamic township enterprises and circulate the ‘township rand’ within townships,” he said.

Speaking at the same event, the Chief Executive of Glencore Alloys, Japie Fullard, said the company initiated the conceptual design of the Mining Supply Park in 2007 under Xstrata and the Limpopo Provincial Government to catalyse local economic growth, employment and development for the region.

“In 2009, planning and marketing for the park was started, with the first infrastructure being constructed in 2010/2011. In fact, the concept to enhance the local skills base and to advance the local economy, started as a joint venture between mining operators in the area.

“Glencore remained committed to see the project to its fruition at an initial cost of approximately R100 million. The Mining Supply Park covers 38 hectares, with 61 industrial units,” Fullard said.

He said the Mining Supply Park was a true testament of Glencore’s entrepreneurial spirit and commitment as it stands at the forefront of the envisaged establishment of the Fetakgomo-Tubatse SEZ.

He reiterated Glencore’s commitment to local economic and infrastructure development and the upliftment of the community in which they are operating.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, says Eskom does not expect this weekend’s special voting process and Election Day to be hampered by load shedding.

He was speaking during a briefing on Wednesday evening following the implementation of stage four load shedding by the power utility, following trips, breakdowns and shutdowns at five power stations, which took nearly 15 000MW off the grid.

Gordhan said the power utility would be bringing back at least 2 000MW of electricity online by Thursday morning, with the system expected to be downgraded to level three load shedding.

He said both Eskom and government are “doing everything possible” to ensure that the voting weekend is not disrupted by blackouts.

“On Friday, a few more thousand units will be put back onto the system as a result of plants returning to operation that will downgrade to level two.

“Over the weekend, load shedding will stop, which means that as South Africans go to the polls and as the counting of votes continues on Monday and over the next few days, there will be no load shedding, unless there is an unexpected event, which I am assured by the board and Eskom management is an unlikely event,” he said.

Gordhan said Eskom and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) have also put in contingency measures should the power utility experience problems.

“The IEC itself has procured 14 000 lighting equipment for the various voting stations that are outside of Eskom’s supply areas. The 16 000 voting stations… have been divided into a number of clusters throughout the country, and each of the clusters will have, amongst other things, generators and technicians who are on standby in order to assist the IEC in any voting station where there might be difficulties that might emerge,” he said.

He said the IEC has also ensured that generators are present at the national and provincial Results Operations Centres and vote capturing sites to secure electricity supply.

Gordhan said the escalation of load shedding over the past week have made it “quite clear” that there is an urgent need to add more power to the electricity system.

“It is now urgent that all those parties that are responsible for ensuring that we utilise gas or we ensure that the right amount of investment takes place for introducing more megawatts in the country must be speeded up with a greater sense of urgency that we’ve demonstrated at this particular point in time.

“Extraordinary measures will have to be taken to ensure that Eskom receives the support it requires in order to fulfil its function. At the same time, a higher level of vigilance, urgency and rigour is going to be required both of management and staff at Eskom itself,” the Minister said.

Coupled with this, Gordhan said new measures will be put in place to ensure that consequences must follow poor performance at the power utility.

“Pay will be directly related to performance. If your particular power station is not performing at the rate that it is capable of performing, then the necessary consequences must actually follow.

“The chief executive and senior management will also ensure that there are senior people on the ground… to instil the right kind of urgency and vigilance at all levels of Eskom, particularly at the power station level,” Gordhan said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS) levels have shown stability in the past few weeks, despite recording a minor fall this week.

Week-on-week, the IVRS, which is the largest in the country and consists of 14 dams, has seen an incredible increase as a result of widespread rainfalls.

However, this week, the system decreased from 81.7% to 81.2%. In the previous year at the same time, the system was sitting at 54.5%.

An iconic dam in the system, Vaal Dam, is now at 81.4% after a drop from 82.2% last week.

Meanwhile, Grootdraai Dam has dropped for the second week in a row. This week the dam is at 71.3%, down from last week’s 72.7%. This is lower compared to the 76.1% it recorded at the same week last year.

“Although still impressively just below the 100% mark, Bloemhof Dam has seen a slight knock this week. It presently stands at 96.2% from 97.8% last week,” the Department of Water and Sanitation said in a statement.

The current levels of the dam show that it has improved over the months compared to when it stood at 82.9 % at the same time last year.

“For a second subsequent week, the Sterkfontein Dam in the Free State remains above 100% at 100.6 % this week and higher compared to the 100.4% last week,” the department said.

In the Kingdom of Lesotho, there is hope that in the coming months, the expected rains will recharge catchments there.

While Katse Dam continues to slightly drop weekly, it has made a remarkable recovery after being almost completely dry last year. This week, the dam slightly decreased from 66.0% last week to 65.6%.

Mohale Dam fell this week, dashing hopes of recovering in much the same way as the Katse Dam. It dropped from 31.9% to 31.3%. However, this is considerably higher compared to the 2.6% last year at the same period.

The other dams that form part of the system are holding firm as shown below:

• Woodstock – 81.9%

• Zaaihoek – 75.4%

• Jericho – 79.2%

• Westoe – 44.7%

• Vygeboom – 93.3%

• Morgenstond – 79.2%

• Heyshope – 83.6%

• Nooitgedacht – 95.1%

While the level of the IVRS gives comfort with regard to water availability particularly for Gauteng, it is still important to remind all water users to continue to use water sparingly.

South Africa needs all the water it can get and conserve, particularly in this era of the need to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by washing hands regularly with water and soap.

Source: South African Government News Agency