News24Wire

https://staging1.creamermedia.com/

News24Wire

News24’s breaking news wire service brings you the latest South African, African and international news reports and press updates from newsrooms across the country. Powered by the country’s leading journalists, and headed by the News24 editorial team.

A 20-year Karpowership deal doesn't make sense for the Western Cape, says Winde

24th August 2023 The Western Cape government is "totally against" having an emergency energy solution such as the Karpowership extending for two decades, according to Premier Alan Winde. On Thursday, the Western Cape Cabinet adopted its final position on energy procurement from Karpowership. Karpowership was... →

Urgent electricity bill - key to solving SA's power crisis - finally tabled after delays

24th August 2023 The Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill, an urgent piece of legislation that is key to overcoming South Africa's energy crisis, has finally been tabled in Parliament nearly five months after being approved by Cabinet. There are significant doubts that the bill, which is a crucial next step in... →

Koeberg Unit 1 on track to return to service in early November

17th August 2023 Eskom says that the main mechanical work on replacing the steam generators at Koeberg's Unit 1 has been completed and it will return to service on 3 November. Koeberg's Unit 2 will be taken offline on 7 November, slightly later than anticipated two weeks ago, avoiding the problem that both units... →

The Koeberg nuclear power station

Govt messed up the 9.6GW nuclear project – Mantashe

17th August 2023 The 9.6GW nuclear project, under former president Jacob Zuma's administration, failed because government failed to develop it "systematically" at a "pace and rate" the country could afford, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has said. The minister was speaking during a webinar... →

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

Johannesburg starts prepaid meter update before it all goes dark next year

17th August 2023 City Power has begun its installation and reset of prepaid electricity meters in Johannesburg before they all stop working next year. The electricity entity began visiting customers in residential homes in Hursthill on Wednesday, with 200 City Power agents targeting 4 000 households daily. →

Urgent electricity bill - key to solving SA's power crisis - delayed by admin bungle

16th August 2023 An urgent piece of legislation that is key to overcoming SA's energy crisis has yet to be introduced into Parliament, it emerged on Wednesday, raising the fear that it will not be passed this year. The Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill was approved by the Cabinet in March with the promise by... →

Former Anglo, De Beers chair Julian Ogilvie Thompson dies in Joburg

15th August 2023 Julian Ogilvie Thompson, former chairperson of De Beers and Anglo American, has died at age 89 in Johannesburg. This followed a period of declining health, according to a family death announcement published in The Telegraph. Born in Cape Town, Ogilvie Thompson's father was a former chief justice.... →

South Africa's dirty air: 'Perplexed' UN Special Rapporteur calls for better enforcement of pollution laws

14th August 2023 The enforcement of laws on pollution and the release of toxins into the environment in South Africa need to be tightened, said United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, Marcos Orellana, on Friday. Orellana has spent several weeks in the country and on Friday, announced... →

Loadshedding: No special treatment for Joburg during Brics summit, says Ramokgopa

14th August 2023 Johannesburg will get no special treatment from Eskom when it hosts a major Brics summit later this month, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has said. The 15th Brics summit will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg between 22 and 24 August. The summit will be... →

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa

Eight bodies found after Northern Cape mining accident, cops search for more victims

3rd August 2023 Eight people died on Monday when a tailing dump collapsed at a bulk sampling mining area in the Northern Cape. The incident happened close to Kleinsee in the Nama Khoi Local Municipality. →

Another person arrested in R2.2bn Kusile power station corruption case involving Matshela Koko

2nd August 2023 Another person has been arrested in connection with the R2.2-billion Kusile corruption case. The suspect was expected to appear at the Middelburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Mpumalanga on Wednesday morning. "The accused stands charged with money laundering linked to Kusile Power... →

Hefty hike in diesel price on Wednesday, petrol also pricier

31st July 2023 On Wednesday, unleaded petrol (both 93 and 95) will be hiked by 37c a litre, while diesel will increase by 72c a litre. The latest hikes will bring the price of 95 unleaded petrol to R22.83 a litre in Gauteng, compared to R25.42 a year ago. The wholesale price of diesel will now be R20.21 a... →

Bid to interdict Eskom's new grid rules fails

31st July 2023 Renewable energy company G7 has failed to interdict Eskom from applying its new grid access rules. Had the interdict been granted, the progress of new energy projects, both those planned by the private sector and those commissioned to supply Eskom, would have stalled. Judge Basheer Vally... →

Hikes ahead for all fuel grades in August

31st July 2023 Fuel price hikes are expected for all fuel grades in August, unaudited data from the Central Energy Fund has shown. The data suggests petrol ULP95 will climb by around 35 cents a litre, and petrol 93ULP by around 30c/l. Diesel is expected to jump by around 72 cents a litre, and illuminating... →

Stage 4 overnight on Friday - and a weekend of loadshedding ahead

28th July 2023 Stage 4 loadshedding will continue to be implemented until 05:00 on Saturday, Eskom has said. Thereafter, various stages of loadshedding will be implemented until 05:00 on Monday. Breakdowns have reduced to 16 686MW of generating capacity while the generating capacity out of service for planned... →

Competition watchdog approves SAA, Takatso deal - but bars minority shareholders, retrenchments

25th July 2023 The Competition Tribunal has approved Takatso Aviation's proposed acquisition of a 51% stake in South African Airways, but has given conditions - including a moratorium on retrenchments as, well as a sale of the stake held by minority shareholders. The Tribunal said in a brief statement that it... →

Loadshedding bumped to Stage 5

24th July 2023 Power utility Eskom has announced that Stage 5 loadshedding will be implemented from 14:00 on Monday. This was "due to further delays in returning generating units to service", as well as "the further failure of 5 generating units" on Monday. →

Enter the weekend on Stage 5 as Eskom battles to meet rising demand

21st July 2023 Due to higher than anticipated demand, Stage 5 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 today until midnight on Friday, Eskom said in a statement. Thereafter, Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented until 05:00 on Sunday. Breakdowns have reduced to 16 302MW of generating capacity while the... →

Man dies in suspected illegal mining explosion in Bram Fischerville, two injured

21st July 2023 A man died from a suspected illegal mining explosion in Bram Fischerville, Johannesburg, on Thursday afternoon while two others were injured. The City's emergency management services spokesperson Xolile Khumalo said the explosion was caused by dynamite connected to a vehicle battery. →

City of Joburg identifies three possible causes of explosion

21st July 2023 The City of Joburg has identified three possible causes of the explosion on Lilian Ngoyi Street in the city centre. City manager Floyd Brink said it identified the ignition of methane gas in underground stormwater systems due to sewerage ingress, the ignition of natural gas mixed with oxygen in... →

Items worth more than R1bn recovered in Eskom-related fraud and theft investigations

21st July 2023 Forty-two firearms, 83 loads of coal, and 33 trucks were among items to the tune of more than R1-billion that were recovered during Eskom-related fraud and theft investigations since April last year, according to the police. In addition, 126 arrests were made since national police commissioner... →

Durban port partnership: ANC KZN bats for 'long overdue', 'mixed economy' deal, labour not buying it

20th July 2023 There's been mixed reaction to Transnet Port Terminals' 25-year joint venture with Philippines-headquartered company International Container Terminal Services Inc for the development and upgrade of its biggest container terminal. Transnet announced on Monday that it had concluded "the process of... →

Stage 4 loadshedding returns on Wednesday after eight generating units break down

19th July 2023 Two days after announcing an improvement to the system after several generating units returned to service at the weekend, Eskom has now announced that Stage 4 load shedding will return on Wednesday afternoon. This was after eight generating units broke down since Tuesday evening. Stage 4 will... →

Relief as inflation falls below 6%

19th July 2023 Annual consumer price inflation slowed dramatically to 5.4% in June from 6.3% in May. The last time consumer inflation was within the Reserve Bank's target range of 4% to 6% was more than a year ago. This may help to convince the monetary policy committee not to hike interest rates on Thursday.... →

Fitch maintains South Africa's ratings, says an ANC election loss won't mean new economic policies

18th July 2023 On Monday, Fitch again maintained its "BB-" credit rating on South Africa – despite now expecting no economic growth this year. The US credit rating agency kept its "stable" outlook on South Africa’s long-term foreign and local currency debt ratings. →

Jan Oberholzer to leave Eskom in shock development

18th July 2023 In a surprise announcement, Eskom said that the utility and its former COO Jan Oberholzer would "part ways by mutual agreement". Last month, Eskom confirmed that it had signed a two-year contract with Oberholzer to oversee key projects at coal-fired power station Kusile and nuclear power plant... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
Former Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer

Loadshedding reduced further as six generating units come back online

17th July 2023 Loadshedding will be reduced to Stages 1 and 3 from 5:00 on Tuesday, following the return to service of six generating units over the weekend, Eskom said in a statement on Monday. However, Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 on Monday until 05:00 on Tuesday, as previously... →

Rand Water systems back online, but it may take time for water to reach your taps

14th July 2023 Rand Water's maintenance is complete, but that doesn't necessarily mean water will immediately come from your taps. The bulk water supplier completed its 58-hour planned project at 05:00 on Friday. It reminded residents that it would take time for systems to recover. There have been reports of... →

More than R1bn damage to Western Cape farms after West Coast, Winelands flooding

14th July 2023 The Western Cape agriculture sector suffered more than R1-billion in infrastructure damage during recent flooding, and now the provincial agriculture department wants to have the area declared a disaster to free up funding for repairs. According to the department, an updated assessment puts the... →

Brace for a weekend of Stage 6 loadshedding

13th July 2023 Stage 6 loadshedding will continue to be implemented over the weekend in order to replenish emergency reserves, Eskom said in a statement on Thursday. "The increase in the demand for electricity due to the cold weather, particularly on Monday and Tuesday, was anticipated, however this demand... →

Government welcomes Aarto judgment but Outa says it will be difficult to implement

13th July 2023 While the government has welcomed the judgment of the Constitutional Court on Wednesday which declared the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Amendment Act (Aarto) constitutional and valid, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) says it will be impossible for the government... →

Four more trucks torched in Mpumalanga, raising count of attacks in past few days to 20

12th July 2023 Four trucks were burnt in Mpumalanga on Wednesday morning while two others caught fire in separate accidents in the Free State and Gauteng. Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the four trucks were burnt on Wednesday morning at around 05:30 on the N2 between Piet Retief and... →

Stage 6 loadshedding returns

12th July 2023 Less than a week after Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said he was confident that Eskom had enough generating capacity to withstand the cold weather, the power utility announced the implementation of Stage 6 loadshedding. "Due to the loss of additional generating units overnight, the... →

Excessive gas pricing: Competition watchdog finds that Sasol charged markups of up to 72%

11th July 2023 The Competition Commission has referred a complaint against Sasol for excessive pricing of natural piped gas to the Competition Tribunal. The commission found that Sasol Gas contravened the Competition Act and extracted markups of up to 72% on the product, with excessive pricing having continued... →

Five more trucks set alight in Limpopo and KZN, raising the truck arson total to 16

11th July 2023 The number of trucks that have been destroyed in arson attacks in the past three days has risen to 16 after five more were set alight in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo on Monday. Eleven were torched over the weekend – six in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday and five in Mpumalanga on Sunday night. →

Electricity grid will suffer, says eThekwini, after Nersa rejects 18.5% hike

11th July 2023 The eThekwini Metro says its already fragile electricity grid will be at a higher risk after the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) rejected its proposed 18.5% electricity tariff hike. In a letter addressed to city manager Musa Mbhele, which News24 has seen, Nersa CEO Nomalanga Sithole said,... →

Four Eastern Cape men in dock for allegedly stealing platinum plates worth R6.3m

11th July 2023 The Hawks have arrested four employees of a German car part manufacturer in Gqeberha for allegedly stealing platinum plates worth R6.3 million and selling them to scrap metal dealers. Minileit, the Gqeberha branch of Germany-based ISOLITE, is the largest supplier of exhaust systems to... →

Stages 2 and 4 load shedding to continue until further notice

10th July 2023 Eskom on Monday announced that Stage 2 and 4 loadshedding will continue to be implemented until further notice. This was due to increased demand, it said. →

Snow will not stop the 40-hour Rand Water outage

10th July 2023 Rand Water spokesperson Makenosi Maroo says the snowfall in Johannesburg will not stop the 40-hour planned water interruption that is expected to start at 19:00 on Tuesday and end at 15:00 on Thursday while Rand Water installs two valves between the A19 and B14 pipelines. Most of Johannesburg... →

Ramaphosa expects intelligence report on truck torchings, expresses concern about economic impact

10th July 2023 President Cyril Ramaphosa is expecting an intelligence report on attacks on trucks in South Africa after he expressed concern about the impact of the incidents on the economy. He commented after six trucks were set alight on Van Reenen's Pass, KwaZulu-Natal, on Saturday night. News24 reported... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Landmark Information Regulator fine sets the tone for SA data protection

10th July 2023 After 10 years of building its capabilities, this week the Information Regulator issued its first infringement notice against the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development after it failed to comply with an enforcement notice requiring it to beef up its cyber security software following... →

About

Engineering News is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa
Polity

Newsletters

Sign up for our FREE daily email newsletter

Receive daily sector news alerts

More

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Engineering News is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options

Subscribe