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South Africa’s automotive industry continued its recovery from Covid-19 in the second quarter of the year, with vehicle sales reaching levels last seen before the pandemic.

A growing number of those deals are for new cars, with the number of new-passenger finance deals increasing 34% year-on-year, compared with 5.4% for used-passenger vehicles, notes the latest TransUnion South Africa Vehicle Pricing Index (VPI) report.

The index also shows that new-car prices still lag inflation, while used cars continue to become relatively more expensive.

The latest TransUnion VPI for new vehicles moved from 6% in the second quarter of last year, to 3.9% in the second quarter of this year, with the used-vehicle index soaring from 4.9% to 8.3% in the same period.

In contrast, South Africa’s overall inflation rate was 5.9% at the start of the second quarter of this year.

The VPI measures the relationship between the increase in vehicle pricing for new and used vehicles from a basket of passenger vehicles, which incorporates the 15 top volume brands.

The index is created using vehicle-sales data from across the industry.

As a result of the new pricing trends, the ratio of used-to-new vehicles sold shifted significantly in the past quarter, notes TransUnion.

A year ago, 2.67 used vehicles were sold for every new vehicle.

In the second quarter of this year, however, this declined to 2.1.

Within the used-vehicle market, 27% of cars sold were less than two years old, with this number continuing to decrease as the supply of quality used vehicles remains under pressure.

Demo models financed made up 4% of used financed deals.

TransUnion Africa auto information solutions VP Kriben Reddy says the recent growth numbers have to be taken in context, and warns that lagging indicators like rising interest rates could still impact sales going forward.

“The market is heading in the right direction, but we have to remember that a year ago we were in the midst of level four lockdowns and civil unrest, which depressed the market severely.

“We’re also almost certainly going to see the impact of rising inflation and interest rates at a time when household incomes are not growing at the same levels.”

Consumer Choices

According to the TransUnion VPI report, consumer buying patterns showed that one in three (33%) of new and used financed vehicles were hatchbacks, while one in five (20%) were sports-utility vehicles.

Sedans retained their market share, although this was mainly in the used-vehicle market, where supply remains constrained.

Consumers between the ages of 26 and 40 bought nearly half of all vehicles financed, of which most were used.

The percentage of cars (new and used) being financed below R200 000; between R200 000 to R300 000; and over-R300 000 has had year-on-year movement in the second quarter of 2022, with a clear move from under-R200 000 to the over-R200 000 bracket.

“Looking ahead, the big challenge for the industry is to transform itself to drive the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) as fuel prices continue their upward trend and the need to reduce emissions becomes more pressing,” says Reddy.

“Our local production facilities will have to invest and tool up to manufacture more EVs to meet demand, and dealers should be driving the uptake of EVs by educating consumers.”

In a letter issued by President Cyril Ramaphosa on August 29, he said his administration's efforts to root out corruption were starting to yield results, with the Hawks reporting that, between the 2019 and 2022 financial years, 554 suspects had been arrested for corruption, 142 of whom were convicted.

The latest of those involved in wholesale corruption to be brought to book are those allegedly involved in State capture through the plundering of State-owned Transnet.

Asset management firm Trillian founder and financial institution Regiments shareholder Eric Wood, along with Albatime director Kuben Moodley appeared at the Palm Ridge court today, in Ekurhuleni, alongside former Transnet CEO Brian Molefe and CFO Anoj Singh, in connection with alleged fraud and corruption perpetrated seven years ago.

The disgraced former Transnet executives were arrested early in the morning along with former Regiments executive director Niven Pillay and former Regiments CEO Litha Nyhonyha.

These suspects joined Moodley, Wood and former Transnet acting CFO Garry Pita and former Transnet treasurer Phetolo Ramosebudi, as well as Trillian co-founder Daniel Roy, in the dock on charges of fraud and corruption relating to Transnet’s procurement of 1 064 freight locomotives – a deal that cost South African taxpayers R189.2-million.

Nonprofit organisation Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has welcomed the arrests, stating that Molefe and Singh had much to account for when it comes to the billions of rands South Africa lost as a result of State capture.

“They were not only involved in State capture at Transnet, but also later at Eskom, the State’s crippled power utility. We are also happy to see that Outa’s referrals and submissions on State capture to the law-enforcement agencies contributes to the arrest of State capturers,” Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage said.

Solidarity has also welcomed the arrests after Solidarity filed criminal charges against Molefe and Singh at the Brooklyn Police Station, in Pretoria, earlier this year.

Solidarity said that, although these arrests are positive, justice had already been delayed for far too long, and that South African citizens deserved immediate action from the South African Police Service and other structures regarding other alleged State capturers.

“The absolute injustice of years of corruption and theft cannot continue any longer because of endless delays on the part of our criminal justice system . . . Continuous pressure must be exerted on our security services to do their job, and any further dragging of feet will not be tolerated.

“State capturers have robbed workers of their jobs and future and have stolen taxpayers’ hard-earned money. We cannot allow it," Solidarity CEO Dr Dirk Hermann said.

Solidarity contended that the damage caused by corruption was not limited to financial loss as it has also destroyed the State’s ability to provide essential services, while also breeding distrust among citizens towards the South African justice system.

“In order to purchase the locomotives, Transnet secured a $2.5-billion loan facility from the China Development Bank, the so-called CDB loan,” Outa State capture expert Rudie Heyneke explained.

The 2015 loan, of which $1.5-billion was drawn down, formed part of the financing for the purchase of the locomotives, of which some were purchased from the China State-owned locomotive manufacturer CRRC .

The balance of $1-billion was financed through a so-called “club loan” in South Africa. Investment banking firm JP Morgan was replaced by Trillian as the lead arranger and, for that, an additional R93-million was paid by Transnet to Trillian.

“The original accused appeared previously for irregularities on this transaction. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has now also charged Molefe, Singh, Pillay and Nyhonyha for irregularities regarding the CDB loan,” Heyneke explained.

In August 2020, Outa submitted a detailed referral to the Investigating Directorate on how the Tra...

One year after taking office, Minister Senzo Mchunu says the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is now stronger and fully functional; however, there is still a long way to go and more work to be done.

Mchunu, reflecting on the past year since assuming office, and taking stock of the achievements, challenges and the future work of DWS, noted that it was “no easy undertaking”, with many hurdles and bottlenecks to realise the milestones made to date.

“We still have a long way to go, but understand us to be ready for the task and dedicated to serving the citizens of South Africa,” he said during a media briefing on Friday, highlighting that patience is required, as the department does not have an abundance of resources to resolve the challenges as rapidly as it would like to.

One of the critical tasks prioritised over the past year was the stabilisation of the DWS, starting with the filling of key posts within the department, including the appointment of Dr Sean Phillips as director-general, starting on January 3.

“We set about ensuring that all senior posts are filled, namely that of CFO, DDG: Corporate Services, DDG: Water Services Management DDG: Regulation, Compliance and Enforcement,” he said, adding that, when making the appointments, a stern decision was taken to employ people who are fit-for-purpose with the necessary qualifications, skills and capabilities.

“Strengthening the department by closing all vacancies at the highest levels ensures accountability and responsibility.”

The department is stronger and fully functional with all senior posts filled, and is working on several delivery mechanisms.

During the past year, the DWS prioritised its two main streams, namely water resource management and water services management, implementing several projects throughout South Africa, and in conjunction with neighbouring countries, to ensure water provision and water security.

Priority has been on incomplete projects that must be completed as soon as possible; addressing incapacity in municipalities to deliver on water and sanitation services; communities with water distress; the storms in the KwaZulu-Natal and the drought in Gqeberha; mitigating a lack of resources; and old and dysfunctional infrastructure.

“Based on this, it has become imperative that we explore many delivery mechanisms and increase our tempo.”

One such mechanism is the reconfiguration and leveraging of the Water Boards for water and sanitation provision to communities, with limited differentiation between bulk and reticulation.

A further mechanism being employed is the use of the department’s internal construction unit.

“We are also working with the private sector, where traditionally it has been through tenders, but we are now working on upscaling partnerships with the private sector,” he said, citing examples of public-private partnership work done with the Lebalelo Water User Association, Ivanplats Mine and the Vaal Gamagara project.

In line with the partnership approach, the DWS established a National Water Partnerships Programme, as well as a Water Partnerships Office in the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

The National Water Partnerships Programme will run five programmes, namely nonrevenue water; management contract; wastewater treatment; water reuse; and seawater desalination.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has issued an updated invitation, with an earlier September 16 deadline, for written comments regarding its concurrence with new Ministerial determinations allowing for the procurement of 18 791 MW of new electricity capacity.

Nersa’s original invitation set a closing date of September 23 for the receipt of public comments, which would have been a day after the bid submission deadline for the sixth bid window (BW6) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.

Had that been the case, it would not have been possible for a new determination for solar photovoltaic (PV) to be published to allow BW6 to be doubled from 2 600 MW to 5 200 MW, as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on July 25, when the enlarged bid window was unveiled as part of a package of measures aimed at tackling intensifying load-shedding.

The solar PV allocation catered for under an existing determination, published in 2020, has nearly been exhausted and, absent a new determination, the IPP Office had indicated that the size of BW6 would have to be reduced to 4 200 MW.

Nersa released the updated invitation and comment deadline on Friday, August 26, shortly after Engineering News published an article highlighting the fact that the September 23 deadline was out of sync with government’s ambition to double next renewables round.

Three proposed determinations have been delivered to Nersa by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe in line with Section 34 of the Electricity Regulation Act and cover the following capacities included in Table 5 of the 2019 edition of the Integrated Resource Plan (IPR 2019):

14 791 MW of ‘Storage’, ‘PV’ and ‘Wind’, for the years 2024 to 2030;

3 000 MW in accordance with the heading labelled ‘Gas/Diesel’, for the years 2024 to 2027; and

1 000 MW in accordance with the heading ‘Other Distributed Generation, Co-Gen, Biomass, Landfill’, for the years 2023 and 2024.

Without the regulator’s concurrence, the determinations cannot be Gazetted and the new generation capacity outlined in the IRP 2019 cannot be legally procured.

Prior to Nersa’s formal request for comment on the determination, IPP Office head Bernard Magoro indicated that the office was gearing up for the enlarged bid window and he expressed confidence that it and its transaction advisers had sufficient capacity to complete bid evaluations within two months of the bid submission date.

He also confirmed that September 15 had been set as the last date for compulsory bid registration, including payment of the bid registration fee.

Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about how Bid Window (BW) 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme is progressing; the doubling of BW6 and the likely timeframes for the bidding round; and the possible risks of having such a large bidding round.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has invited public comment on it providing concurrence with new Ministerial determinations allowing for the procurement of 18 791 MW of new electricity capacity catered for under the 2019 edition of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2019), which covers the period to 2030.

However, the deadline set for the submission of comments is a day after the current bid submission deadline for the sixth bid window (BW6) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, which requires a new determination for solar photovoltaic (PV) to enlarge the round to 5 200 MW.

The solar PV allocation catered for under an existing determination, published in 2020, has nearly been exhausted and, absent a new determination, the IPP Office has indicated that the size of BW6 may have to be reduced to 4 200 MW.

The doubling of BW 6 from an initial 2 600 MW was one of the interventions announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on July 25 to tackle intensifying load-shedding.

Three proposed determinations have been delivered to Nersa by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe in line with Section 34 of the Electricity Regulation Act and cover the following capacities included in Table 5 of the IRP 2019:

14 791 MW of ‘Storage’, ‘PV’ and ‘Wind’, for the years 2024 to 2030;

3 000 MW in accordance with the heading labelled ‘Gas/Diesel’, for the years 2024 to 2027; and

1 000 MW in accordance with the heading ‘Other Distributed Generation, Co-Gen, Biomass, Landfill’, for the years 2023 and 2024.

Without the regulator’s concurrence, the determinations cannot be Gazetted and the new generation capacity outlined in the IRP 2019 cannot be legally procured.

Under the current timetable, the regulator’s concurrence will not be made in time for the September 22 bid submission deadline set for BW6 – the deadline was shifted from an initial closing date of August 11 to cater for the doubling of the round.

Nersa has set a closing date of September 23 for the receipt of written comments on the determinations.

Engineering News contacted the IPP Office for its response to the development and the office indicated that it was still awaiting governance approvals and that it would revert as soon as these had been received.

Prior to Nersa’s formal request for comment on the determination, IPP Office head Bernard Magoro indicated that the office was gearing up for the enlarged bid window and he expressed confidence that it and its transaction advisers had sufficient capacity to complete bid evaluations within two months of the bid submission date.

He also confirmed that September 15 had been set as the last date for compulsory bid registration, including payment of the bid registration fee.

However, Magoro also pre-empted a possible delay to the finalisation of the final Ministerial determination saying: “If it's approved on time, it will allow us to add the additional 1 000 MW of PV. If not, the IPP Office will have to decide whether to delay the bid submission date again or proceed with 4 200 MW instead of 5 200 MW.”

Even though government paved the way for municipalities to generate or procure their own electricity from independent power producers (IPPs) a little under two years ago, only 25% of them are equipped with either a basic or comprehensive small-scale embedded generation (SSEG) process, or are putting one in place.

A further 25% of municipalities do not have the internal capacity to establish or manage these processes, but may come do so with some support, while the remaining 50% of municipalities are not in a state to handle any additional responsibility, owing to long-standing financial difficulty or mismanagement issues, Sustainable Energy Africa director Mark Borchers noted this week.

He shared his insight on how large-scale embedded generation was being rolled out across local government during a webinar hosted by the Association of Municipal Electricity Utilities and the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers on August 23.

He explained that while SSEG had been happening at municipalities for quite some time, and many had managed this reasonably well, bringing large energy users into the network was a “whole new movement” that needed understanding of legalities and required proper processes to be in place.

Among the local government authorities that have successfully pulled off SSEG and larger-scale embedded generation is the City of Ekurhuleni, in Gauteng.

The city’s chief engineer, Hendrik Raedeni, said the metro had an embedded generation integration framework in place, as well as an IPP programme. Ekurhuleni comprises nine towns, each with an independent distribution grid.

Through the city’s IPP programme, which was launched in 2017, 47 IPPs have been appointed through a request for proposals process to supply electricity in the metro.

The city has signed 90% of the required power purchase agreements (PPA) with these IPPs, with three IPPs busy with grid integration studies at the moment and ten having letters of intent to fund from investors in place.

The estimated start of construction for some of the IPPs is December this year and January next year, while the first generation units from these projects will be online in 12 months’ time.

The city only accepted embedded IPPs with capacities of 5 MW and above, with no wheeling involved.

Ekurhuleni does have a wheeling framework in place nonetheless, and believes it can present a new revenue stream opportunity for itself and other local government authorities.

The 47 IPPs have total proposed capacity of 683 MW, of which 298 MW will comprise solar, 139 MW waste-to-energy and 195 MW gas.

Raedeni said Ekurhuleni hoped to save just under R14-billion through this programme, which would have otherwise been paid to Eskom over 20 years. The programme helped to ensure more affordable energy for customers, avoided power losses as no long transmission lines were involved, created jobs and mitigated against climate change.

To pull off a successful energy procurement programme, Raedeni suggested municipalities start with small but fundable projects, and ensure good credit ratings, since they aid PPA fundability, as does good payment records to Eskom.

“Investors want risk to be shared and need to be assured government will pay its dues,” he stressed.

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) principal researcher Warrick Pierce, meanwhile, emphasised that the electricity market was evolving and that municipalities’ business models and planning processes should do the same.

He highlighted that they could no longer remain dependent on one source of supply, nor remain a traditional bulk reseller of electricity.

The CSIR has witnessed an evolution to more decentralised energy operations, with more regional and local municipal energy master plans arising.

Pierce said Municipal Energy Master Plans (MEMPs) proved useful in balancing supply and demand, and were considered least cost options, if done well and based on long-term planning.

The CSIR has, in collaboration with...

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is forecasting that South Africa’s growth will slow to 1.8% in 2022 and dip to 1.3% in 2023 and says that a swift implementation of market reforms, including those needed to address the electricity crisis and tackle infrastructure backlogs, is required to reduce uncertainty and boost growth.

During the virtual launch of the ‘OECD Economic Surveys: South Africa 2022’ report on Thursday, acting chief economist Álvaro Pereira described the country’s electricity shortage as its “most pressing internal bottleneck to growth”.

“This is why it's so important to hasten reforms in the energy sector in the near future,” he said, describing security of supply as crucial for investor confidence and for reversing weak investment.

The report notes the surge in load-shedding hours since 2018 and also highlights the country’s slow progress in procuring new generation from independent power producers since the resumption, following a seven-year hiatus, of procurement activities in 2021.

It welcomes recent amendments allowing distributed renewable generation projects to proceed without licensing but says steps should be taken to ensure that registration processes do not delay implementation.

“Admitting private providers of renewable energy would quickly increase electricity availability,” the reports states, adding that it would also help lower South Africa’s carbon emissions, which are particularly high when measured per unit of gross domestic product (GDP).

Besides electricity, the report also underlines the need for increased infrastructure investment to lift productivity, which has fallen over the last decade in sync with declining investment.

Reliable infrastructure provides the basic foundation for productive economies, the report states.

“Productivity growth is also held back by an insufficient provision of high-quality infrastructure, from roads and railways to telecommunications.

“Improving the effectiveness of public investment, in part through strengthening the selection process for large infrastructure projects, would be a step towards restoring productivity growth.”

Public and private sector investment, which amounted to 17.9% of GDP in 2019, is far from the National Development Plan target of 30% of GDP, the report points out.

The financing of road infrastructure, the OECD states, is insufficient, adding that the lack of systemic and regular maintenance is accelerating road deterioration.

In addition, the lack of competition in port services has contributed to lower investment, higher tariffs and a diversion of sea traffic.

Low-quality and unequal telecommunication infrastructure, meanwhile, is slowing digitalisation of the economy.

The OECD recommends that the funding of road infrastructure from the general government budget be augmented based on cost-benefit analyses and that transfers of maintenance funds to local authorities be made conditional on preventive maintenance implemented.

More controversially, it proposes that prepayment and mobile payment systems be developed for e-tolls, the payment for which it says should be enforced.

In the area of digital infrastructure, the report recommends that new frequencies be allocated in a fair manner and that the sector regulators and the Competition Commission be aligned to strengthen competition policies and their enforcement.

Besides infrastructure, the OECD believes higher levels of productivity can be fostered by upgrading basic skills through increasing the quality of primary and secondary schooling, as well as by further developing vocational training and adult learning.

The report also suggests that the current limited access to higher education might be remedied through a move to a formula-based funding for universities, taking the number of students, their socioeconomic background, and outcomes into account in the formula.

South Africa’s Deputy Finance Minister Dr David Masondo said the report assisted in hig...

A homegrown expandable minigrid solution that researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) have been developing, testing and refining for several years has now been fully commercialised to be marketed and sold locally and throughout Africa as the Peco Powerbrick.

The innovation is based on the pioneering work of academics and students at the university’s School of Electrical and Information Engineering who, under the direction of Professor Willie Cronje, have been working on an expandable and affordable offgrid solution for low-income African households since 2014.

The technology is still being assembled at a Wits facility, but is being commercialised through Peco Power, a joint venture comprising impact investment group Umbono Natural Resources, Wits and Cronje and his team of postgraduates.

Peco Power CEO Dorian Wrigley tells Engineering News that the target market remains those low-income households without access to electricity.

However, the commercial solution has been adapted for possible use by grid-connected households seeking a cost-effective back-up during load-shedding.

Therefore, the Peco Powerbrick that will be sold at various retail sites across South Africa can be charged from a regular power socket, whereas the original concept was premised on the energy arising from a small solar panel only.

In addition, the original DC microgrid concept has been redesigned and coupled with an off-the-shelf AC inverter, to make it a true plug-and-play solution that can immediately incorporate 220 V appliances, such as fridges, computers, Wifi routers and televisions.

The commercial unit incorporates a built-in lithium-iron-phosphate battery, which makes it relatively light weight, and is guaranteed to provide a minimum of 2 000 cycles, the equivalent of six to seven years of daily use before any cell replacement is required.

Wrigley believes the solution could, therefore, also find a market among those camping or 4x4 enthusiasts seeking a light-weight off-grid solution for when travelling to sites with no or limited grid connectivity.

The main differentiator of the Peco Powerbrick, however, lies in its patented mini-grid technology, which makes the system scalable.

“Inside every single PowerBrick is a mini-grid,” Cronje explains.

“When I plug two PowerBricks together that expands to form one larger mini-grid.”

This modular ‘Lego-block-type’ concept represents a departure from current off-grid power offerings, which are linear in nature.

The result is a power grid that is able to accommodate multiple loads by scaling up the power and battery components in line with a household’s energy needs and/or financial means.

“The mini-grid is scalable from 70 W to 500 W of continuous power, or 2 500 W of peak power and the battery storage is expandable from 150 Wh to 2 500 Wh,” Wrigley says.

Another key driver has been affordability, with the entry-level 70 W/150Wh system expected to retail for R3 799 and the top-of-the-range 200 W/600 Wh system expected to cost R7 999.

Wrigley anticipates that the initial sales impetus is likely to arise from South African households seeking a system that is able to keep cell phones charged, Wifi routers on, and computers powered for two- to three-hour load-shedding stints.

However, he stresses that the original vision of providing an affordable solution for the 100-million African households without access to electricity remains firmly intact.

To service that market, Peco Power is aiming to partner with nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) or faith-based communities in deploying the system through a “community franchise model”, whereby the franchisee rents the system out to communities that are unable to afford the upfront cost of the system.

“For approximatel R350 000 you can set up a franchise with 100 Peco Powerbricks.

“If those units are then rented out at R100 a month, the franchisee would generate a R10 000 monthly income, while 100 households would have access to affordable power...

Members of the South African Iron and Steel Institute (SAISI) have come out in full support of the proposed six-month ban on the export of scrap metal from South Africa.

SAISI members include ArcelorMittal South Africa, Cape Gate, Columbus Stainless, Force Steel, Scaw Metals, SA Steel Mills and Unica Iron and Steel, while Safal Steel and Grinding Media are affiliated members.

The temporary ban has been proposed by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition as part of a broader three-phase intervention to tackle high levels of metals theft, which is estimated to be costing the economy about R187-billion yearly.

The interventions are currently the subject of a public consultation process, during which there have been some warnings that the ban could negatively impact legitimate recyclers and informal waste collectors, as the criminal syndicates involved in copper cable theft are unlikely to heed the ban.

Besides the export ban, the other components of the proposed first phase of the intervention include: an export permit system for semi-finished metal products to facilitate easier policing; the creation of an import permit system for furnaces and various other scrap transformation machines; possibly limiting export permits for semi-finished metal products to businesses that manufacture semi-finished products, and establishing a central repository to monitor metal theft from critical public infrastructure.

During the second and third phases various regulatory amendments may be introduced to enhance the registration, reporting and enforcement regime for metal trading including limiting the number of ports that can be used to export scrap and the imposition of prohibition of cash-for-scrap transactions.

Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel told lawmakers this week the temporary prohibition on exports of waste and scrap metal, and the creation of a permit system for the export of semi-finished metal, should lead to a material reduction in the theft of metal from the country's infrastructure as it will “eliminate or reduce one of the avenues for monetising stolen metal, that is its exportation”.

Patel also denied that the export prohibition would have a significant negative impact on legitimate local upstream collectors and recyclers as the volumes of waste and scrap that are currently legally exported can be sold locally.

“The temporary, two-month, prohibition on the export of scrap in 2020 did not cause serious harm.”

SAISI concurs, arguing that the proposed intervention should “lead to a material reduction in the theft of metal from the country’s infrastructure”.

“These interventions will divert significant volumes of scrap metal to the local market, leading to lower prices, which will likely disincentivise theft and vandalism of infrastructure,” SAISI secretary-general Charles Dednam argues.

SAISI believe the steel industry will benefit mainly from a reduction in theft and vandalism-induced service delivery interruptions, particularly as these relate to rail and electricity services.

In addition, it will benefit from more domestic supply at better prices for mini-mills, foundries and metal processors.

“Increasing scrap intake is essential to the cost competitiveness of the local primary steel producers – large and small – and is critical to the industry’s environmental and carbon aspirations,” Dednam says.