South African Government Aims to Curb Power Outages

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--South Africa utility major Eskom (Sunninghill) has been implementing the worst rolling blackouts in South Africa on record, leaving households in the dark, disrupting manufacturing and hurting businesses of all sizes. As a result, President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national "state of disaster," allowing his administration to bypass bureaucratic hurdles so it can accelerate new energy projects.

The government intends to give Eskom 254 billion rand ($13.9 billion) in debt relief to free up funds for repairs and improving the transmission and distribution system.

To achieve industrial demand, South Africa has removed some of the stringent requirements for companies to generate power for their own consumption. Before the amendment to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Act, anyone planning to produce their own electricity had to apply for a license if the power plant was larger than 1 megawatt (MW).

It was initially proposed that this threshold be lifted to 10 MW and then 100 MW. As South Africa's electricity crisis kept getting worse, the 100 MW threshold was also waived last year.

According to South Africa's energy regulator NERSA, in the first two months of 2023, 1,073 MW worth of power projects was registered by private firms. These projects are in various stages of development, but they will add some much-needed generation capacity to complement what these companies are getting from the national utility company.

Industrial Info is tracking 325 capital projects in South Africa's Power Industry, worth US$54 billion. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for a full list of project reports.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).