Terence Creamer
Terence Creamer is the Editor of Engineering News and a Deputy Editor for Mining Weekly. He also has editorial responsibility for Polity.org.za and Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa.
Not practical to implement new ‘black box’ tariff rules from 2025, Eskom insists
12th February 2024 Eskom says the Electricity Pricing Determination Rules (EPDR) approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) in December cannot... →
Ramokgopa denies President’s pre-Stage 6 SoNA assertions caused embarrassment and insists loadshedding ‘corner has been turned’
11th February 2024 Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has move to defend the statement made by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address... →
Worrying outlier
9th February 2024 The International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) most recent report on the electricity sector includes a troubling section on Africa’s recent... →
Ramaphosa moots ‘innovative investment models’ for grid as he reiterates support for power and logistics reform
8th February 2024 President Cyril Ramaphosa used his final State of the Nation Address ahead of upcoming elections to reiterate government’s commitment to reforms in... →
Standard Bank not expecting major fiscal slippage despite election pressures
7th February 2024 Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim does not anticipate “material fiscal slippage” in the 2024 Budget, despite expenditure pressures... →
Nersa makes far-reaching changes to tariff rules, but implementation timing uncertain
6th February 2024 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has approved far-reaching changes to the way electricity tariffs will be set in future, but... →
Energy Council welcomes IRP extension, calls for strong reform message in SoNA
6th February 2024 Energy Council CEO James Mackay has welcomed the decision of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to extend the comment period for the... →
Nersa formally publishes licences for new grid company
2nd February 2024 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has officially published on its website the three licences required for the... →
Grid unlocked
2nd February 2024 As the South African government seeks to re-establish some momentum behind the public procurement of new independent power producer (IPP)... →
IPPO ‘engaging’ with Eskom on implications of new curtailment rules for current renewables bid window
30th January 2024 The Independent Power Producer Office (IPPO) reports that it is engaging with Eskom on its newly released curtailment addendum to the latest... →
Big procurement year
26th January 2024 The coming year is poised to be the most active ever for the public procurement of new electricity generation capacity. Besides shepherding the... →
Independent transmission project office to be set up to procure new grid using build, operate, transfer model
23rd January 2024 Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa reports that government plans to establish an independent transmission project office, located either at... →
Marokane to officially report for duty as Eskom CEO on March 1
19th January 2024 Eskom has announced that Dan Marokane – who was named group CEO on December 8, almost a full year after André de Ruyter formally resigned – will... →
Gas lock-in
19th January 2024 “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” the quote, attributed to Benjamin Franklin, reads. What happens, however, when your plan is a... →
Grid constraints cast shadow over South Africa’s seventh renewables bid window
17th January 2024 South Africa’s grid constraints are continuing to cast a shadow over the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme... →
Sasol’s Mabelane to head board at Eskom’s unbundled grid company, NTCSA
9th January 2024 The inaugural board of directors of the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA), which was announced by the Eskom board on Tuesday,... →
Ramokgopa seeks to unlock private finance for 6 000 km of new grid in coming three years
9th January 2024 Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the current plan for rolling out grid infrastructure, particularly in the coming three years, is... →
No seamless extension
15th December 2023 The Koeberg saga, much like South Africa’s ongoing efforts to tackle loadshedding decisively, hardly ever fails to disappoint. Having missed... →
South Africa moves to procure 5GW of renewables, 2GW of gas-to-power, 615 MW of battery storage
14th December 2023 The South African government has released three requests for proposals (RFPs) for new electricity generation and storage capacity, including 5 000... →
South Africa launches renewables procurement round for 5 000 MW of wind and solar
14th December 2023 The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has released the much-anticipated and delayed seventh bid window (BW7) of the Renewable... →
Powerline industry warns it may not survive until grid roll-out ‘feast’ given current investment ‘famine’
13th December 2023 The Power Operations & Leadership Association of Southern Africa (Polasa) believes the famine-then-feast profile of Eskom’s execution plan for the... →
South Africa to release 2 500 MW nuclear RFP by March, despite electricity plan review
12th December 2023 The South African government will publish a request for proposals (RFP) for 2 500 MW of new nuclear capacity by March 2024, following the National... →
Shrugging off sanctions risk, PetroSA aims to seal GTL refinery investment deal with GazpromBank by April
11th December 2023 South Africa’s PetroSA aims to make a final investment decision (FID) by April on a project designed to support the resumption of production at the... →
Ntshavheni confirms draft IRP 2023 contains ‘significant’ revisions, but offers no clarity on consultation process
11th December 2023 Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has confirmed that the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) approved by Cabinet for public comment... →
Koeberg Unit 2 to return in Sept, heightening risk of both units being out simultaneously
10th December 2023 Eskom generation head Bheki Nxumalo has indicated that an extended outage at Koeberg Unit 2, which begins on December 11, is currently expected to... →
IRP update approved by Cabinet includes new coal decommissioning schedule
10th December 2023 Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa reports that Cabinet has approved the release of an updated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for public... →
No love, but some sympathy
8th December 2023 There is not much love for ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA). The near-monopoly business is seen as over-protected, and under responsive by many of... →
Both Koeberg units to be offline from July unless NNR approves Eskom’s licence decoupling request in Jan
4th December 2023 The National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) will decide in January whether to grant Eskom’s request for the Koeberg Unit 1 and Unit 2 licences to be... →
Treasury says equity injection can be averted as it unveils R47bn Transnet guarantee
1st December 2023 A R47-billion guarantee facility, effective immediately, has been extended to struggling State-owned freight logistics group Transnet in support of... →
Green growth and jobs
1st December 2023 Transitioning South Africa’s energy ecosystem from its current over-reliance on coal to one progressively based on the country’s natural advantages... →
Mantashe says special Cabinet meeting will consider IRP update after Ministers request time to ‘apply their minds’
30th November 2023 Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe confirmed that an update of the Integrated Resource Plan, which he has previously dubbed... →
Gore warns of ‘plateauing’ pace of delivery on power, logistics, crime reforms
29th November 2023 Business Unity South Africa (Busa) president Adrian Gore has warned that the pace of delivery across the joint initiatives being taken with... →
3 500 jobs at risk as ArcelorMittal mulls closure of longs units at Newcastle, Vereeniging
28th November 2023 Steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa has indicated that it may close its long-products business, which could result in the loss of 3 500... →
As Eskom outlines worsened prognosis, City Power confirms loadshedding schedule review amid ‘Stage 8’ uproar
27th November 2023 Having outlined an improving power system prognosis for the working week on Sunday, following the shock implementation of Stage 6 on Friday... →
De-escalation in loadshedding forecast for coming week as country emerges from renewed Stage 6 trauma
26th November 2023 Eskom is forecasting a de-escalation in the intensity of rotational power cuts for the coming week following the traumatic return of Stage 6 on... →
Black Friday loadshedding triggered by depletion of reserves and heat-wave demand spike
24th November 2023 Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa attributed the “unwelcome” ramp up in the intensity of loadshedding to Stage 6 to a need for Eskom to... →
Light from the tunnel?
24th November 2023 Reform progress in South Africa rarely moves in a straight line from A to B, with the stop/start nature of the country’s electricity reform being a... →
New $1.8bn-plus concessional loan package signed to support JET-IP
21st November 2023 South Africa has confirmed the signing of three new policy loan agreements – worth more than $1.8-billion – in support of the country’s Just Energy... →
IPG confirms increase in just energy transition funding to $9.3bn
20th November 2023 The enlarged International Partners Group (IPG) has reaffirmed its commitment to extend concessional funding to South Africa in support of the... →
Language of incumbency
17th November 2023 Two recent Eskom publications are heavily laden with the language of incumbency, which continues to go unchecked by a policymaker distracted by... →
Eskom says Koeberg Unit 1 being started as another resumption target is missed
15th November 2023 Eskom reports that it has received permission from the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) to restart Koeberg Unit 1, but has once again missed a... →
