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The direct cost to restore passenger rail services in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) following the recent floods, stands at an estimated R2.6-billion to R2.9-billion, says the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).

In addition to this, the loss of fare revenue owing to the suspension of train services is estimated at roughly R50-million.

PRASA, which operates the Metrorail service, says the floods led to the suspension of train services, with Metrorail KZN suffering “substantial damage to its facilities, rail infrastructure and rolling stock”.

The agency says it put together a disaster management response team to assess the damage to the rail network, and to develop a recovery plan.

This team’s preliminary investigation identified nine sections that have been severely affected by the floods.

PRASA says restoring services in these sections will require the rehabilitation and replacement of perway (tracks); repair of electrical infrastructure and substations damaged by the floods; replacement of signalling equipment; replacement of damaged fibre cables and UPS equipment; and repair of the drainage system and Illovo bridge.

The agency warns, however, that some areas remain inaccessible, with geotechnical and detailed design assessment, as well as further costing estimates, to be conducted once water levels have subsided.

As part of the team's recovery efforts, the work has been divided into two phases.

Phase 1 concerns work that needs to be performed to ensure trains are able to travel safely through the flood-affected sections, while Phase 2 will focus on the overall rehabilitation of the infrastructure.

“Ultimately, the safety of commuters is our top priority, and services can only be resumed once all repairs have been completed and trains can run again,” says PRASA.

Constraints to implementing a more streamlined registration process for distributed generation power plants below 100 MW have been fully scoped and are being addressed systematically under the aegis of Operation Vulindlela, the head of The Presidency’s project management office has confirmed.

In an interview with Engineering News, Rudi Dicks reports that the issues are being tackled during weekly meetings at which private sector stakeholders, Eskom and responsible government departments are present, including mineral resources and energy, forestry fisheries and the environment, public enterprises and the National Treasury.

The meetings have been convened to ensure that a market reform, announced in June last year, raising the licensing threshold for distributed projects from 1 MW to 100 MW, is implemented as envisaged so as to ease pressure on South Africa’s load-shedding-prone network.

“I must emphasise that this is unchartered territory and there were, thus, always going to be challenges,” Dicks explains, while insisting that steady progress is being made to clear the current hurdles.

The meetings, he stresses, are solution-oriented and have been made more practical given that several of the 58 projects, representing 4 500 MW of potential new generation being pursued by mining and other energy intensive companies, have been presented, along with impediments to their construction.

The prevailing red tape has been clustered under four broad headings, including:

an overly burdensome registration process with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), which includes a stipulation that all power purchase agreements (PPAs) be presented at the time of registration;

protracted environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes;

ongoing delays to land-use and water-use authorisations; and

a lack of capacity within Eskom’s grid access unit to deliver cost estimate letters as well as budget quotes timeously for access to the transmission network.

The lack of transmission capacity has also been identified as a major problem, and is viewed as one that will have to be dealt with at multiple levels, including possibly by ensuring that some of the $8.5-billion being offered to support South Africa’s just transition is directed towards grid investments that can unlock renewables generation.

On Nersa registration, several investors have questioned why PPAs are necessary, likening it to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission demanding to know the identities of a firm’s customers before agreeing to register it.

Dicks reports that there is agreement in principle for the commercial aspects of the projects to be excluded from the Nersa registration process.

There is also an agreement to Gazette the 100 MW scheme as a Strategic Integrated Project, or SIP, under the Infrastructure Development Act, with the objective of ensuring that the regulatory processes required for implementation are fast-tracked.

Such Gazetting should reduce the EIA timeframe for the projects from 107 to 57 days.

Dicks says there has already been progress in streamlining water-use licensing processes and that Eskom’s decision to release land for renewables projects in Mpumalanga will also be supportive of accelerated project development.

A request for proposals was issued on April 8 for land leases and Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has indicated that the sites, which are located alongside existing coal stations, have the combined grid-evacuation capacity to accommodate about 1 000 MW of new renewables.

Dicks reports that the Operation Vulindlela meetings have also emphasised the need for Eskom to beef up the capacity of its grid access unit, which is currently viewed as insufficient to deal with the flow of requests for cost estimates and budget quotes.

Eskom group executive for distribution Monde Bala has confirmed that work is under way to improve the functioning of the unit in light of an expectation of an “avalanche of applications” aligned with the 100...

Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the finger pointing that is normal after any bout of load-shedding; the most recent blame game being amplified as a result of an ugly showdown during a Parliamentary oversight visit to Eskom's Megawatt Park; President Cyril Ramaphosa's response; and what the country should be doing to tackle the ongoing energy crisis.

A new documentary, highlighting both the fears surrounding, and potential of pursuing, a so-called just transition in the coalfields of South Africa, has been released on YouTube.

The 30-minute video includes interviews with community members, workers and businesspeople from the Steve Tshwete and Emalahleni municipalities, in Mpumalanga, whose lives and livelihoods are currently inextricably linked to coal.

It also features the views of environmental activists and researchers who are part of a joint initiative established to engage with local stakeholders on the just transition. The initiative is being led by Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS), the National Labour and Economic Institute (Naledi), groundWork and urban energy and climate practitioner Peta Wolpe.

Titled ‘Voices from under a dark cloud – towards a just transition in the coalfields of South Africa’, the documentary has been produced by Joelle Chesselet and Lloyd Ross of Shifty Media, with funding from the UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions South Africa Programme and the European Union, through the Green Economy Coalition.

While highlighting the negative health, environmental and climate effects of coal mining and electricity production in the two towns, the film also documents the importance of the energy mineral to both business activity in the area and to jobs, with 150 000 people employed directly in the coal value chain and an estimated 650 000 indirectly.

It also shows retrenched Optimum mineworker Sicelo Masino expressing his yearning for the reopening of the mine so that his livelihood can be restored, Glencore shop steward Simon Mdluli stressing that “our bread is buttered by this coal”, and Naledi acting executive director Hameda Deedat arguing that “you cannot close coal-fired power stations and close the mines and think that it’s okay”.

However, the documentary also points to a growing acceptance of the need for a transition, not only to improve health and environmental conditions, but also to support the emergence of more sustainable enterprises and employment prospects.

That said, the worker and community members interviewed all stress the importance of consultation, community involvement and reskilling in the transition process, warning that it is unlikely to be just if their hopes and fears are not heard and addressed.

TIPS senior economist Gaylor Montmasson-Clair argues that, at the most ambitious level, the transition should be one that embraces participatory, distributive and restorative justice.

“We would miss a massive opportunity if we don’t pursue that transformative agenda.

“That means participatory justice – making sure that the process itself is inclusive.

“Then it’s about distributive justice, [so that] whoever loses their job, or loses their livelihood as a result of the transition, should have an alternative.

“And it is also about restorative justice – can we improve access to services, can we improve the direct environment of people in terms of air, water, land, and can we have a better economy for all by addressing the historical inequalities,” Montmasson-Clair outlines.

The documentary itself draws much of its content from a series of webinars and local engagements that have taken place over the past year. And those behind its production stressed that it is intended primarily to foster a more intensive dialogue on how to ensure that the transition away from coal is just and delivers tangible projects and employment opportunities.

Some of these potential alternatives are showcased in the film, including developments under way in the agricultural sector.

However, the drivers of the joint initiative believe there are also significant opportunities in tourism, manufacturing, and renewable energy, particularly as Eskom begins to repower some of its decommissioning coal-fired power stations.

“We owe the board and management of Eskom our full support as they work to turn the utility around,” President Cyril Ramaphosa writes in his weekly newsletter.

Published against the backdrop of a recent bout of Stage 4 load-shedding and fresh finger-pointing over who is to blame for intensifying load-shedding, Ramaphosa insists that the crisis has its roots in events that pre-date the current Eskom leadership.

“Despite warnings from energy experts about impending energy shortages nearly two decades ago, there was a delay in commissioning new generation capacity.

“When construction began on Medupi power station in Limpopo in 2007 it was the first power station to be built by Eskom in more than 20 years.

“Medupi has subsequently been beset by delays, costs overruns and breakdowns due to design problems, with many of these challenges linked to allegations of corruption,” the President narrates.

The existing power stations, meanwhile, were also not maintained properly, particularly as these plants were made to ‘run harder’ to meet the country’s energy needs and “there was insufficient investment in the technical skills needed to operate and maintain power plants”.

“In short, the load-shedding we experience now is the result of policy missteps and the impact of State capture over many years.

“This is the situation that we have confronted since the start of this administration and that we are all working to fix.”

The President’s analysis gels with one offered by Eskom CEO André de Ruyter during a recent load-shedding briefing, where he also reiterated a call for an urgent injection of non-Eskom capacity to help address a supply deficit of between 4 000 MW and 6 000 MW.

It is at odds, however, with a statement made by African National Congress (ANC) economic transformation committee chairperson Mmamoloko Kubayi, who in an interview with Business Day questioned whether Eskom was providing the “whole picture; what they say does not add up”.

In addition, following a flare-up during a recent Parliamentary standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) oversight meeting at Eskom’s Megawatt Park head office, there has been much public argument about where the blame for the crisis lies.

Despite the Public Enterprises Ministry describing Eskom board member Busiswe Mavuso’s conduct as “regrettable” and “unbecoming”, she has since strongly defended her comments – stating that the ANC government was responsible for the “mess” at the utility – as well as her decision to walk out of the meeting after being reprimanded by Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwe, of the Inkatha Freedom Party.

Eskom has sought to diffuse the conflict, issuing a statement confirming “constructive and robust engagements” with Scopa and committing to “continue to implement Scopa’s recommendations to demonstrate the entity’s commitment to operational effectiveness and fiscal prudence and to ensure that we can deliver on our mandate”.

Writing his letter under the heading ‘There is light at the end of the load-shedding tunnel’, Ramaphosa acknowledges that a stable and reliable supply of electricity is “a necessary condition for economic growth”.

“That is why we are focused on achieving energy security as one of our foremost priorities.”

He acknowledges that it is difficult to imagine a future without load-shedding, but insists that the steps being taking will “ensure that we get there”, including steps to reduce the country’s reliance on a “single utility for power”.

A joint task team, comprising all relevant government departments and the private sector, is working, Ramaphosa reports, to accelerate investments in new distributed generation projects in line with a recent market reform allowing sub-100 MW projects to proceed without a licence.

“There is a pipeline of 58 projects under development with a combined capacity of 4 500 MW, many of which will commence construction this year.

“The task team is working to speed up environmental authorisation and other approvals,” he w...

The continuing global mobility movement away from fossil fuels means that more of us will drive battery electric vehicles (BEVs) sooner than we probably may imagine.

Experts have spoken about consumers’ range anxiety – will my BEV make it to my destination before the juice runs out? – or the fear about finding an available charging station once you have hit the road.

While most of these issues are being addressed through either an expanding charging network, or rapidly growing electrified vehicle (EV) range, very few auto makers have explained what it means to own in EV in terms of maintenance.

Once you have bought your first EV, what must you do to look after it? After all, there is no oil to check, and very few moving parts as there is no internal combustion engine (ICE).

In fact, must the vehicle be serviced at all?

Engineering News Online (ENO) asked BMW Group South Africa (BMW) some questions on what it means to look after a BEV.

ENO: I have just bought my first BEV. Do I need to have the vehicle serviced at regular intervals, or only bring it in when something is wrong?

BMW: All BMW Group vehicles (bar the Mini One) are sold with a warranty, and a five-year/100 000 km motor plan. The individual service requirements might vary from model to model, but all vehicles require regular service and maintenance to ensure they remain in an optimum operating and roadworthy condition. On a BEV this could be as simple as an annual vehicle inspection, the replacement of wiper blades, or a brake fluid flush.

BMW Group vehicles’ condition-based services are based, among other parameters, on both time and mileage driven. The vehicle continually monitors the condition of all operating parameters and determines the date and mileage of the next applicable service based on usage and the vehicle operating conditions. Typically, we quote 20 000 km or around 18 months on modern BMWs and Minis.

ENO: Does BMW need to service my BEV, or can any service facility do it?

BMW: As it is a very specialised vehicle with potentially dire consequences for untrained service personnel, due to the high voltage (HV) nature of the drivetrain, it is recommended that the vehicle be maintained by a suitably trained and equipped BMW or Mini dealer.

It is understandable that emergency work may need to be carried out from time to time, and getting to a dealer may not always be possible, but special caution must be given to anything related to the HV components, drivetrain and battery.

If any emergency repairs are completed, information and documentation detailing the nature of the work need to be kept.

ENO: A BEV has no internal combustion engine and, therefore, much fewer moving parts. What then needs to be serviced on the vehicle?

BMW: While you are correct on the serviceability and operation of BEVs versus ICE vehicles, BEVs still require regular service and maintenance regimes.

Also, some EVs come with a small ICE for range extension that requires the same service parameters as a petrol or diesel engine vehicle. As mentioned at question one, above, items such as wiper blades, brake pads and discs, brake fluid, tyres, wheel bearings, coolant, for example, may all require inspection and monitoring over the life of the vehicle.

Depending on the technology of the battery, one could have liquid-based closed-circuit cooling systems, or air-conditioned cooling systems that may require inspection for leaks.

ENO: Will my warranty, battery warranty included, be voided if I don't service my BEV?

BMW: It will, yes, as the vehicle warranty is contingent on the need and requirements for regular vehicle maintenance. Each warranty claim, however, stands on its own merit and will be investigated for the potential cause of the failure. If the failure can be linked to non-service, the warranty on that component and for that claim will not be honoured.

ENO: Will a BEV service be less expensive than when I service my ICE vehicle?

BMW: This would depend on the specifications of you...

Urban information and research network the South African Cities Network (SACN) has published its fifth 'State of Cities' report, which recommends that cities take a whole-of-government and all-of-society approach to meet their objectives of becoming more economically and socially inclusive, sustainable and spatially transformed.

Cities are crucial for global development, and their performance in delivering basic services and positive development outcomes is inextricably linked to the wellbeing of their citizens, regions, countries and the world, says SACN CEO Sithole Mbanga.

South Africa is no exception to global trends in experiencing rapid urbanisation, with more than two-thirds (67%) of its population having lived in urban areas in 2020. The country's population is expected to grow by 19-million to 24-million people by 2050, many of whom will live in cities or towns.

Despite an expected growing population and number of households, South Africa’s metros have maintained relatively high levels of service delivery, in terms of basic services, namely water and sanitation, electricity, waste removal and information and communications technology infrastructure.

They have also managed to increase their contribution to the national economy, while operating in a climate of poor economic growth, the report says.

South African cities have, however, made little progress in achieving key development outcomes and metros face challenges related to informality, public transport and associated infrastructure, as well as declining operational expenditure on maintenance, the report states.

“Cities have struggled to translate their accomplishments into positive developmental outcomes and to create a better life for all citizens. Outcomes have, at best, been mixed. Positive outcomes include adequate access to food and improved literacy rates, and negative outcomes include unemployment, poverty and inequality, and more people affected by environmental problems,” the report says.

However, there are pockets of excellence where an all-of-society approach and cooperation among government spheres have made cities more inclusive and safer, involving the youth in urban processes, improving informal settlements’ living conditions and creating better public spaces, says Mbanga.

“Other cities are urged to follow in their footsteps, as there is a general lack of progress in making and managing more inclusive spaces. This is in part owing to local governance structures that are constrained in terms of devolution, transversal management and intergovernmental relations.

“Conflict among communities and stakeholders also exists and changing the status quo will require a whole-of-government and all-of-society approach, including the participation among government spheres, public agencies and other sectors of society,” he emphasises.

Further, cooperative governance and all-of-society approaches underpin the National Development Plan 2030, the Integrated Urban Development Framework and international instruments, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and are central concerns that the District Development Model is trying to address.

Despite policy support and commitment, these practices are not widespread and not always successful. Their use has been haphazard, with isolated instances of good practice, rather than broad application, the report states.

“However, despite the challenging municipal environment, there are examples of successful practices. What is urgently needed is to remove the barriers and to facilitate broader project-level and systemic uptake of these practices,” the SACN recommends in the report.

“Cooperative governance and all-of-society practices are increasingly important for South African cities, especially in a climate of dwindling state resources and growing public demands at the local level, including health, economy and social security, and when developmental outcomes are the mandate of, or dependent upon, other urban a...

Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the latest bout of load-shedding, what Eskom can do to improve the situation, what can be done more broadly to inject more energy into the system and what is needed to improve the outlook for the energy sector over the medium to long term.

The State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) reports that a request for proposals will be issued in the “coming weeks” for the development of a liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Port of Richards Bay, in KwaZulu-Natal.

The tender process follows confirmation by TNPA that it received 19 responses to a request for information (RFI) released on February 13 to assess market interest in the design, development, construction, financing, operations, maintenance and transfer of an LNG terminal in the port’s South Dunes precinct.

Port manager Captain Dennis Mqadi reports that the respondents included experienced developers and operators of gas infrastructure in South Africa, Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East.

He said the project was aligned with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s strategic plan for the development of a domestic gas market and also supportive of the country’s Integrated Resource Plan for electricity, which has a 3 000 MW gas-to-power allocation for development by 2027.

“To that end, TNPA intends to approach the market in the coming weeks with a request for proposal, which will ensure that the project can be realised within the 2026 timeframe that it is required,” Mgadi said in a statement, adding that the tender process would be “open and fair”.

Richards Bay is viewed as one of several potential sites for the development of LNG import infrastructure in South and Southern Africa, with planning for a terminal at the Matola harbour, in Maputo, in Mozambique, believed to be well advanced.

Both Sasol and Eskom have registered an interest in possibly securing the additional gas that could flow from a terminal in Matola, given its proximity to the existing Rompco pipeline, linking South African gas consumers with gas supply from southern Mozambique.

Sasol has signed a draft term sheet for the delivery, from 2026, of LNG to its Mpumalanga complex, while Eskom has indicated that there may be potential to repower some of its decommissioning coal plants in the same province with gas solutions.

A separate RFI, meanwhile, has also been issued to assess the implementation options and market appetite for the creation of an LNG import hub at the Port of Ngqura, in the Eastern Cape.

That document has been issued by the Central Energy Fund, which has established a joint development agreement with Transnet and the Coega Development Corporation to facilitate a possible terminal adjacent to the Coega Special Economic Zone.

Transnet has highlighted the potential of Richards Bay previously, noting that the cost of gas supply could be reduced by linking it to existing port and pipeline assets, including the Lily pipeline and parts of the Durban-to-Johannesburg pipeline.

However, Richards Bay is far from Eskom’s Ankerlig and Gourikwa open-cycle gas turbine power stations in the Western Cape, which currently produce electricity using diesel, but are technically able to operate on gas.

The State-owned utility intends approaching the market soon for possible LNG supply to both power stations.

There is, however, ongoing opposition to the introduction of an imported fossil fuel, particularly for use in the electricity sector.

A recent report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that a pause should be placed on any gas-to-power development until at least 2030, given its analysis that gas supply to balance higher penetration levels of variable renewable electricity will be unnecessary until 2035.

The IISD report also argues that there is no economic case for bulk or peaking supply from new-build gas plants and that there is even uncertainty about the role of gas in providing future balancing or back-up capacity.

Eskom has confirmed that it intends procuring engineering and maintenance services from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the coming months to supplement its skills base at power stations that have become prone to repeated unplanned breakdowns.

CEO André de Ruyter said the strategy was still being canvassed with organised labour and with government, but that he expected the first OEM “boots on the ground” within the coming three to six months.

Speaking against the backdrop of another sustained period of power disruption and warnings of up to 101 days of winter load-shedding, De Ruyter said the strategy was also designed to free up limited internal resources by augmenting its skills base at a select few power stations, which would continue to be fully operated by Eskom employees.

Eskom has 79 coal units across its 15 power stations, many of which have become unreliable partly as a result of their age, but also because of years of maintenance neglect.

The average age of the coal fleet is 42 years, excluding Medupi and Kusile.

“We are in the process of working with our internal procurement systems in order to get the appropriate bids in place to make sure that we can bring those OEMs on board.

“Obviously there are also consultations that have to take place with organised labour and those consultations have commenced,” De Ruyter explained.

In instances where Eskom would be approaching a single OEM supplier, certain Public Finance Management Act exemptions would also be sought from the National Treasury.

Once these processes were complete, Eskom would initiate a procurement process with the OEMs, he said.

“If all goes well, I think within the next three to six months, we should be able to see those boots on the ground . at some units, on some power stations.

“So, this is not a strategy that we're going to implement across the board, but only at those power stations that are the significant contributors to unplanned capacity losses – those are the power stations where there is a need to bring in supplementary skills,” De Ruyter explained.

Earlier, generation executive Phillip Dukashe said that Eskom was “not comfortable” that it had the skills, experience and competency in-house to address the por performance of the coal fleet.

“We have lost a number of experienced people . . . and we are certainly not where we should be in terms of competence,” Dukashe said during a recent load-shedding briefing.

He noted that Eskom had, on two previous occasions, sought to inject skills on an emergency basis and reported that it was “working on doing something similar but on a much broader scale” to supplement Eskom human resources with additional experienced personnel.