Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., the world’s biggest sulfur-dioxide emitter, obtained a pollution exemption at one of its two biggest coal-fired power plants to allow it to restore generation capacity to the grid quicker.
(Bloomberg) — Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., the world’s biggest sulfur-dioxide emitter, obtained a pollution exemption at one of its two biggest coal-fired power plants to allow it to restore generation capacity to the grid quicker.
Eskom will be allowed to temporarily bypass the so-called flue-gas desulfurization unit — which cuts sulfur dioxide emissions by as much as 99% — as it carries out repairs to the Kusile power plant, Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said in a statement on Wednesday. Sulfur dioxide is linked to ailments ranging from asthma to heart attacks.
The minister is “aware of the health and associated impacts of exposure to sulfur-dioxide emissions, particularly on communities in close proximity to coal-fired power stations,” she said. “In the light of the competing factors, I have been called on to make an extraordinarily difficult decision.”
Lawmakers Want Affidavit From Eskom Ex-CEO on Alleged Graft (March 15, 11:24 a.m.)
South African lawmakers will ask former Eskom Chief Executive Officer Andre de Ruyter to submit a sworn affidavit on allegations he made about corruption at the state-owned power utility.
The invitation may serve as a prelude to a parliamentary inquiry into the power utility, Standing Committee on Public Accounts Chairman Mkhuleko Hlengwa told the lawmakers in Cape Town on Wednesday. Affidavits will also be sought from Eskom’s board and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan in response to De Ruyter’s allegations, he said.
De Ruyter said in an interview with local broadcaster e.tv that Eskom was losing about 1 billion rand ($55 million) a month due to graft and theft, with the involvement of people linked to the ruling African National Congress. A day later, Eskom announced that De Ruyter would leave the company with immediate effect, instead of the previously scheduled end date on March 31.
Read: Eskom Loses $55 Million a Month to Graft, Departing CEO Says
Outages Boost Voter Antipathy Toward Ruling Party (March 15, 09:43 a.m.)
More than half of South African taxpayers want to vote the governing party out of power in next year’s elections because of rolling blackouts, a survey shows.
An online poll of almost 1,500 adults last month found that 65% of middle-income earners are seriously considering not voting for the African National Congress in next year’s general elections, according to a BrandMapp-Silverstone report published on the website of Cape Town-based consultancy WhyFive.
Read: Outages Fuel Voter Antipathy to South Africa’s ANC, Poll Shows
Eskom Holdings May Be Raised by S&P (March 14, 8:16 p.m.)
S&P Global Ratings put Eskom’s debt assessment on positive watch, meaning it may upgrade South Africa’s state-owned power utility.
The move follows the announcement last month that Eskom will receive 254 billion rand ($14 billion) in debt relief from the government, the ratings company said in a statement on Tuesday. S&P expects the move “will address Eskom’s near-term debt obligations once implemented and give Eskom room to focus on operational improvements and electricity-sector reform targets,” it said.
S&P could raise Eskom’s CCC+ rating by one or more notches based on the expectation that the utility’s liquidity position will strengthen and that the risks of a near-term default event will reduce once the debt relief agreement is implemented.
Read: Eskom Holdings May Be Raised by S&P
Blackout Levels Lowered (March 14, 1:58 p.m.)
Eskom will implement so-called stage-three loadshedding — in which 3,000 megawatts is removed from the national grid — from 5 a.m. until 4 p.m. starting Wednesday, according to a statement on Twitter. The utility will still cut 4,000 megawatts in the afternoons and at night this week.
–With assistance from Paul Vecchiatto.
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