Latest news with #NationalEnergyRegulatorofSouthAfrica
Eyewitness News
6 days ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Ekurhuleni residents to pay more after tariff hikes
JOHANNESBURG - Ekurhuleni residents may have to pay more for municipal services following the city's decision to raise tariffs. Finance MMC Jongizizwe Dlabathi announced increases in service charges during his budget speech on Thursday to come into effect in the 2025/2026 year. ALSO READ: - Ekurhuleni budget: Residents to pay more for water, electricity, sanitation & refuse removal - City of Ekurhuleni decides to insource essential services to strengthen internal capacity - Ekurhuleni sets aside R250m to rehabilitate road infrastructure, particularly potholes However, unlike in Johannesburg, property rates and municipal bus services will not increase. If the Ekurhuleni City Council approves the proposed budget, residents will see a 15% increase in their monthly water bills. Electricity prices are also set to rise, but only in accordance with the guidelines set by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). Additionally, refuse removal fees will go up by 6%, while sanitation services will cost 10% more. Dlabathi said when compared to other metros, these increases are relatively reasonable. "Our 2025/26 tariffs are lesser on sanitation and refuse removal compared to the City of Joburg, Cape Town and eThekwini, except for the City of Tshwane. Similarly, the average comparative analysis of 2024/25 tariffs shows that we came second with 10.43%, while the City of Cape Town approved the highest average tariff of 13.71%.' These tariffs will go towards funding the city's R65 billion budget.
The Citizen
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Here's when City Power won't pay up or fix your outage
As well as the Johannesburg city by-laws, City Power derive their responsibilities from several other national directives. City Power have clarified its rights and responsibilities relating to the supply of electricity. The entity recently stated that it would not be footing the bill for the replacement of a particular section of electrical infrastructure, prompting queries from residents. City Power has since provided a detailed description of the sections of the installations and outlined the legislation that governs their interactions with electricity users. Connections in three parts City Power uses the South African National Standard (SANS) 10142 to define the sections that the service connection is divided into. The service connection is made up of three parts: the point of connection, the point of metering, and the point of control. The point of connection is where the service cable receives the electrical supply from the grid, and the point of metering is where the meter is installed. '[The point of connection] is distinguished by a switching device and is usually rated above all other succeeding breakers on the service cable,' City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena explained to The Citizen. 'Meters form an integral part of the local authority's equipment, and the consumer does not have access to or authority over this part of the service cable,' he added. City Power stated in late April that customers would be responsible for the replacement cost of the final part of the service connection should it be damaged or stolen. 'The next and very important part is the consumer's point of control. This section is sectionalised by a breaking device — circuit breaker or isolator,' said Mangena. 'These breakers are located on the property boundary, within a meter receptacle with the code name ME1/3in the City Power area of supply,' he explained. Point of control From this point onward, the consumer is responsible for maintaining and carrying out any work on the service cable. 'In paid service connections, the applicant pays City Power for infrastructure up to the point of control. Consumers are responsible for supplying the point of control breaking device and its housing,' Mangena said. He added a definition from SANS 10142, noting that a point of control could be a 'point at which a consumer can, on or in any premises, switch off the electrical installation from the electricity supplied from the point of supply.' Mangena said City Power's responsibilities to its customers were grounded in four key documents. As well as the City of Johannesburg by-laws, electricity supply is governed by Section 4 and 5 of the Electricity Regulation Act of 2006, the Municipal Systems Act of 2000 and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa's (Nersa) National Regulatory Standards (NRS) 047,048 and 049. Reliable and safe supply is covered by the city by-laws and NRS 048, while metering and billing are defined in the by-laws, NRS 047, and the Municipal Systems Act. Fault response and maintenance are covered in NRS 047 and 049, with tariffs determined by Nersa and the Electricity Regulation Act. Protecting infrastructure Residents are allowed to install protective measures up to the point of control. These measures include conduit pipes on private property, cable covers and trenched and buried cable routing at approved depths. Residents are still required to report any damage immediately to City Power and must obtain written consent from City Power for any alterations that may affect municipal infrastructure. Residents are prohibited from tampering with or working on cables outside their property or connecting to or altering City Power infrastructure without approval. The installation of makeshift protection such as steel cages, barbed wire or brackets are also prohibited, unless previously arranged with City Power. Replacing the point of control infrastructure is for the customer's account and must be done by a certified electrician. No customer may repair infrastructure up to the point of control. NOW READ: City Power will not pay to replace this cable if stolen by thieves
IOL News
06-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Portfolio Committee urges urgent review of electricity pricing amid affordability crisis
The Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy has called on Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to accelerate the review of South Africa's electricity pricing policy. Over the past few years, South Africans have faced sharp electricity tariff hikes, with Eskom implementing a 12.74% increase effective last month, following approval from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). The continued rise in electricity tariffs has prompted warnings that the increases are unsustainable and could result in significant financial strain for both households and businesses. Last year, Ramokgopa acknowledged that electricity in the country was becoming increasingly unaffordable. He emphasised that one of the most critical challenges facing the nation is balancing the need to stabilise the energy sector with the responsibility of protecting citizens. 'One of the most critical challenges we face is balancing the need to stabilise our energy sector with the responsibility to protect citizens from economic hardships, particularly the poor and the marginalised communities,' he said. Committee Chairperson Nonkosi Mvana revealed that the committee called on the Minister of Electricity to review the electricity pricing policy to better reflect the country's current energy dynamics. 'Given the problem of affordability of electricity in the country, the committee called the Minister of Electricity to review the electricity pricing policy to reflect the country's dynamics within the electricity in SA," Mvana said, according to the SABC. Mvana further revealed that the policy is currently being reviewed to align with broader electricity reforms. "The policy is currently being reviewed to align the policy with the broader electricity reforms. One of the objectives of the review is to obtain a balance between competitive imperatives. That is an affordable electricity tariff for low consumers.' [email protected] IOL Business Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
The Citizen
02-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Winter is coming: Has Eskom got a plan to avoid load shedding?
In January, Eskom shattered its record of 300 days of no load shedding. With winter arriving in South Africa in June, many will be wondering if Eskom is prepared to cope with the cold, harsh weather that puts additional pressure on the electricity grid, leading to load shedding. Winter is expected to arrive on 21 June and make its exit around 22 September. Winter outlook As the country prepares for colder weather, Eskom said it will provide a 'State of the System and Winter Outlook' on Monday. Earlier this week, Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, predicted a load-shedding-free winter for this year. The minister forecast the country's power plants to perform the same as last year, as he saw no reason for their performance to decrease, he said on the sidelines of the second G20 Energy Transitions Working Group in Cape Town on Wednesday. ALSO READ: We just came out of emergency load shedding, but Eskom has high hopes for winter Ramokgopa expressed confidence that generation levels would match or exceed those of winter 2024, with no expected setbacks. Load shedding In January, Eskom shattered its record of 300 days of no load shedding when it imposed stage 3 power cuts after more than 10 months of uninterrupted electricity supply. Since January, there has been infrequent load shedding, and the country hit stage 6 power cuts in February. Ramokgopa at the time said the country had been hit by a 'perfect storm'. Stage 6 Eskom CEO Dan Marokane also dismissed claims that the utility implemented stage 6 load shedding because it failed to get the requested electricity tariff hike from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa). In August, the parastatal submitted an application to Nersa for a proposed 36.15% hike during its 2026 financial year, 11.81% in 2027 and 9.10% in 2028. However, in January, Nersa only approved a 12.7% electricity tariff increase for Eskom. Marokane said stage 6 load shedding has nothing to do with the parastatal's failure to receive its desired electricity tariff hike. ALSO READ: Eskom gets boost as Kusile's final unit adds 800MW to grid
Zawya
28-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
CORRECTION: Billions in Investment Opportunities Presented by Premier Invest at Congo Energy & Investment Forum (CEIF) 2025
Financial services provider Premier Invest has announced a series of investment opportunities in the African energy and oil and gas sectors. covering a range of four energy projects across Benin, Zambia and South Africa and five oil and gas projects across Nigeria and Ghana, as well as Guyana. The announcement was made on March 26 by Rene Awambeng, Founder and Managing Partner of Premier Invest during a dedicated deal-room session – Showcasing Upstream Oil and Gas Transactions in Africa – at the inaugural Congo Energy&Investment Forum (CEIF) in Brazzaville. 'The deal-room sessions on the sidelines of the Congo Energy&Investment Forum are an opportunity to provide a platform for sponsors, developers and project promoters to showcase significant upstream, midstream, downstream and power transactions in Africa to potential investors,' stated Awambeng. The first opportunity, a 43 MW clean gas project in Benin, is seeking $84 billion in project finance. Currently in the commercial close stage of development, the project will help reduce the cost of energy in the country while bolstering economic growth, job creation and improving Benin's energy security. Meanwhile, Zambia features a $92 million investment opportunity in a 71 MW hybrid solar PV and wind project. The project will feature a power purchase agreement over a period of 25 years and is estimated to feature an annual production of 232 GWh per year. In South Africa, a 100 MW solar PV project has an $87 million investment opportunity. The project will feature an offtake agreement with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa and a power purchase agreement of 20 years. The project will boast an annual production rate of 195 GWh per year. Concluding the energy investment opportunities South Africa is also seeking $100 million in investment to finance a 100 MW clean-gas project to complement intermittent renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, while offering a cleaner solution to the country's reliance on coal. The project features a proposed capital structure of 70:30 and is in the active implementation stage. Phase 1 of the project will feature a commitment of $140 million to develop inland facilities, pipelines and site works while the second phase will feature an investment of $60 million focusing on engineering, procurement and construction contracts for tanks, instrumentation and commissioning. Meanwhile, a state-of-the-art gas-to-liquids plant – the details of which are subject to a non-disclosure agreement – is seeking interested parties to participate in an upcoming formal investment process. The project will have a validated production capacity of 1,850 barrels of oil per day and will feature an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization measure of approximately $50 million. Ghana is seeking $759 million in financing to develop four offshore production wells. Financing will be used to develop tie-back infrastructure to existing FPSO infrastructure, targeting 57.8 million standard barrels of oil. The project aims to produce 5 million barrels of oil per year, with potential investors set to receive 84% of the total project net present value. An indigenous oil development company in Nigeria is seeking an experienced management team to invest $18 million to drill additional wells and increase production at a field with a projected production rate of 2,300 barrels per day. The field area covers 46km 2 and is covered by 3D seismic surveys. Finally, Awambeng also announced a $25 million investment opportunity in Guyana. The project will be adjacent to one of the most productive offshore oil fields in the region and boasts recoverable reserves of approximately 400 million barrels. Investment will be used to support conventional offshore drilling and FPSO tie-up. The companies involved in the investment opportunities will be disclosed upon inquiry, with financing options subject to non-disclosure agreements. The inaugural Congo Energy&Investment Forum, taking place March 24-26, 2025, in Brazzaville, under the highest patronage of President Denis Sassou Nguesso and supported by the Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo, brings together international investors and local stakeholders to explore national and regional energy and infrastructure opportunities. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.
