Latest news with #Eskom
The South African
10 hours ago
- General
- The South African
Eskom to implement 12-hour power outage in Gauteng on Tuesday
Due to planned maintenance, Eskom has scheduled a 12-hour power outage in the Gauteng region. The maintenance is scheduled for Tuesday, 1 July, from 8:00 to 20:00. Eskom said there will be an electricity supply disruption in Aston Lake, Benoni, due to maintenance that will be conducted on the distribution network. 'The power outage will affect customers in Aston Lake on Tuesday, 1 July, from 8:00 – 20:00. The interruption of electricity is necessary to perform essential maintenance on our distribution power lines,' the power utility said. 'Eskom in Gauteng conducts planned maintenance on the distribution electricity network across the province as part of its maintenance plan. It is essential for maintenance to be conducted to service the infrastructure to ensure the safety, reliability, and efficiency of the electricity supply,' Eskom added. In the interest of safety, Eskom said customers should treat all electrical appliances as live at all times during the power outage. Additionally, the power utility said should circumstances beyond its control arise, the planned electricity maintenance in Benoni may not proceed as communicated. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
The Citizen
a day ago
- The Citizen
Polokwane's shocking power infrastructure fails safety standards
Quick read Open mini substations and meter boxes in Polokwane have been left exposed for months, creating serious public safety risks. These electrical units are often used as makeshift phone charging stations near taxi ranks. Many boxes are damaged due to accidents or cable theft and have not been repaired or secured. Municipal law requires these boxes to be locked and maintained by a legally appointed, registered electrical engineer. Polokwane currently has no such 'competent person' appointed, and the responsibility lies with the city manager. Eskom veteran Arthur McDermott has raised the alarm, calling the situation unlawful and dangerous, especially for children. He also revealed at least 40 municipal electrician posts are vacant, leaving critical infrastructure unmanaged. Full story below Full story POLOKWANE – Mini substations and meter boxes in the city are in a shocking state with open cabling left exposed for months and creating a life-threatening situation for residents. A snap review of the pavements in the CBD, residential areas and the commercial area revealed that meter boxes and sub-stations that were either damaged by accidents or vandalised by cable thieves, are left unattended and pose a life-threatening risk for residents and in particular, children. Open mini-substations and meter boxes are now commonly used as charging stations for mobile phone users waiting for taxis en route to work. Municipalities are responsible for ensuring the safe and reliable supply of electricity, managing the distribution network and enforcing compliance with regulations and Polokwane Municipality is in serious default by not complying with the regulations promulgated in terms of legislation. The root of the matter is that the municipality currently has no 'competent person' appointed in terms of the law to manage the electrical affairs of the local authority and that the responsibility now lies on the shoulders of the city manager. Legislation dictates that a 'competent person' is required to answer in a court of law in the case of loss, injury of death and the Electricity Act stipulates this further: 'In any civil proceedings against an undertaker arising out of damage or injury caused by induction or electrolysis or in any other manner by means of electricity generated or transmitted by or leaking from the plant or machinery of any undertaker, such damage or injury shall be presumed to have been caused by the negligence of the undertaker, unless the contrary is proven'. 'It is deeply concerning that the municipality continues to neglect its legal duty to appoint a qualified, registered electrical engineer as required by legislation,' local resident and former employee of Eskom, Arthur McDermott told Polokwane Observer. 'Across Polokwane, exposed high-voltage mini substations, unsecured distribution boxes, and poorly maintained low-voltage infrastructure pose serious threats to public safety – especially children and unsuspecting residents and even an opportunity for thieves who deal in copper theft and house break-ins. The ongoing neglect not only flouts the law, it endangers lives. The time for silence is over. If Polokwane's leadership cannot protect its citizens or comply with national law, they must be held to account,' McDermott said and added that the electrical engineer position has been vacant for some time already and that the engineer who assisted in the past also resigned. 'At least 40 electrician positions are vacant and the council is not filling these with competent persons. This situation is an opportunity for fraud and the competency of the contractors are in doubt,' McDermott said. According to him, all substations, mini-subs and distribution boxes must be locked at all times, with key control under a designated responsible person. This is a non-negotiable legal requirement under South African law. Infrastructure maintenance and compliance is not optional, it is an obligation, he believes. McDermott pleaded that the municipality conducts an immediate investigation into the state of the city's electrical infrastructure, appoint a registered electrical engineer in compliance with all legal standards as a matter of urgency. Spokesperson for the municipality, Thipa Selala responded on Tuesday by claiming that, as part of the municipality's ongoing maintenance programme, the repair and replacement of open or vandalised meter boxes remains a top priority. 'We wish to assure affected stakeholders that all reported meter boxes are receiving prompt attention and will be either repaired or fully replaced by June 26. In the interim, immediate measures will be taken to secure all open boxes and ensure that no live electrical components are exposed,' Selala promised. Selala added that, in a proactive move, the municipality has allocated R10m in the new financial year specifically to tackle this issue. 'The funding will go towards replacing high-risk boxes with durable, tamper-resistant enclosures, with priority given to those already damaged,' he stated. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Eyewitness News
Eskom calls on WC residents to unite against infrastructure theft & vandalism
CAPE TOWN - Eskom in the Western Cape is calling on the public to unite against theft and vandalism. The call comes as some 70 residents in Belhar are still without power, after criminals vandalised substations in the area. The power utility said that since May this year, 12 substations in Belhar had been damaged, leaving scores of residents without power. It said that five recently vandalised substations still needed to be repaired. Eskom Western Cape spokesperson, Kyle Cookson, said that they had spent more than R29 million on repairs as a result of theft and vandalism in the last financial year (2024-2025). "Eskom has observed a sharp increase in theft and vandalism across our areas in the Cape Metropole recently and in response, Eskom took a hands-off approach by adopting a firm stance against repeated vandalism by deprioritising repair or replacement of frequently targeted infrastructure." He said that repeated repairs to vandalised substations had been paused until they found a solution to the criminal activity. "At the end of the day, we want our customers to treat Eskom infrastructure as a shared community asset which is intended to benefit all residents. We invest millions of rand annually in repairing and replacing damaged equipment."
The Citizen
a day ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Cartoon of the day: 27 June 2025
A massive loan to fix SA's infrastructure will be ineffective if poor governance continues. South Africa has secured a $1.5 billion loan agreement with the World Bank. National Treasury said the purpose of the loan is to fix the country's transport and energy infrastructure, while also helping to boost economic growth. However, poor governance continues to plague South Africa, with the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) Eskom and Transnet serving as glaring examples of this. The unreliability of the power system in certain parts of the country has constrained GDP growth, while ongoing port and rail inefficiencies continue to hamper the performance of the mining and manufacturing sectors. NOW READ: Treasury confirms R27bn World Bank loan to fix infrastructure
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
The hidden cost of Eskom's electricity deals with smelters
Eskom, Nersa and the Ministry of Energy & Electricity must explain why energy-intensive smelters deserve these deals – and why other commercial, industrial, manufacturing and mining customers, and ordinary consumers, should foot the bill. A fierce debate has erupted over the preferential electricity pricing deals – known as Negotiated Pricing Agreements (NPAs) – that Eskom has struck with major industrial users like South32's Hillside aluminium smelter and ferrochrome producers. Government insists these deals are vital to protect jobs and exports, but critics say they lack transparency, impose costs on other customers and ordinary consumers, and contradict the principles of a fair and competitive electricity market. Hillside: South Africa's 'congealed electricity' South32's Hillside Aluminium smelter in Richards Bay is one of the largest of its kind globally, and a cornerstone of South Africa's aluminium industry. With no local bauxite reserves, Hillside relies on imported feedstock and vast amounts of electricity – 10.3 TWh per year, around 5.6% of Eskom's total sales. Under the 10-year NPA approved by Nersa in 2021, Hillside pays a discounted rate for electricity that currently amounts to around R10-billion per year less than it would pay on Eskom's standard Megaflex tariff for mines and large industry. The effective discount over the life of the agreement is about 50%. Interruptability vs affordability Eskom justifies this discount by pointing to Hillside's role in stabilising the grid. The smelter's operations can be interrupted briefly during supply shortfalls, providing a form of demand-side flexibility that Eskom can use instead of reserve generation. But according to a recent and critical analysis by Meridian Economics, this function could be replicated – more cheaply – using 1.2 GW of two-hour battery energy storage. Using current battery procurement prices from the IPP Office, such a solution would cost less than R3-billion per year, suggesting a net discount of R7-billion annually to Hillside. The case for socioeconomic value Supporters of the NPA argue it helps preserve jobs and downstream aluminium beneficiation. Hillside employs about 1,800 workers directly and supplies 27% of its output domestically. But critics say this argument is based on false binaries – that without the NPA, the smelter would close and jobs would vanish. Instead, the electricity used at Hillside could be reallocated to smaller businesses, potentially yielding broader and more resilient economic benefits. The real question, then, is not whether Hillside provides value, but whether that value exceeds what other sectors could generate with the same power. Nersa and the fog of regulation The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved the Hillside NPA in 2021, but the process was opaque. The decision lacked detailed economic modelling, failed to evaluate alternatives like battery storage, and made no attempt to compare Hillside's benefit to that of alternative electricity uses. It would further appear that no other party in South Africa has done a proper economic analysis and calculation of the real socioeconomic benefits of the Hillside NPA. Furthermore, key economic inputs – like the pricing escalation clause and aluminium price 'upside' mechanisms – were based on unclear rationale. Although the NPA was touted as free of embedded derivatives, Meridian Economics argues that a call-option structure remains embedded in the deal. Cabinet's broader move — more NPAs are coming In a related development, the Cabinet has just approved a framework to extend NPAs to South Africa's ferrochrome and alloys smelters – long-time industrial electricity users struggling with soaring electricity tariffs. According to Energy and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, the aim is to protect energy-intensive exporters and maintain South Africa's industrial base. But this raises more questions than answers: Are these deals being driven by sound economic analysis and proper power planning, or by ad hoc industrial policy dressed up as regulation? A system at odds with reform Eskom is in financial distress. Other customers – particularly households and SMEs – are paying ever-higher prices for less reliable power. Load shedding, grid instability and rising tariffs have become hallmarks of the crisis. And yet, one of Eskom's biggest customers pays half-price for electricity – a situation kept under wraps until civil society group Open Secrets forced publication of the full Hillside NPA. That it took four years for civil society to scrutinise the deal signals how deeply broken the oversight processes are. Towards a transparent future The principle of cross-subsidisation can be legitimate, but only when clearly justified. Preferential electricity pricing must be scrutinised like any public subsidy: through open modelling, public hearings and clear metrics of cost-benefit. Right now, that is not happening. Eskom, Nersa and the Ministry of Energy & Electricity must explain why energy-intensive smelters deserve these deals – and why other commercial, industrial, manufacturing and mining customers, and ordinary consumers, should foot the bill. Without that, NPAs risk entrenching elite privilege at the expense of national equity, economic dynamism and the future of South Africa's energy system. DM
