Government together with the JSE will host a seminar for funders interested in investing in the strengthening of Eskom’s transmission grid later this month. This was announced by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa on Sunday, during his weekly update on the implementation of the electricity crisis plan.
“Eskom has been limited to capital investment for existing generation maintenance and outages and minimum emissions standards, flue-gas desulfurisation and investment in the strengthening, refurbishment, and expansion of the networks. Funding for the completion of Kusile and Medupi and any other capital expenditure required for the maintenance of the existing fleet will be from Eskom’s internally-generated funds,” the note read.
Energy regulator Nersa has approved the operating licence for the NTCSA, and will at the end of September consider the trading and import and export licences that it also needs. The industry was shocked when 23 wind failed to achieve preferred bidder status in the sixth bid round of government’s Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme in December last year, because there was no grid capacity left in the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape where the projects were planned.
G7 Renewable Energies, the developer of two wind farms near Sutherland in the Karoo, went to court to stop the implementation of the new rules as it feared losing its entitlement to grid access. The company said the award from Eskom was imminent, but a change from the earlier first-come-first-serve approach to shovel-ready, may see it losing out.SA firm moves to block Eskom power-grid regulations
The requirements to have a Civil Aviation Authority approval in place has been relaxed with applicants only needing to show that they have applied.