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Chemicals and mining explosives group AECI says it is on track to realise the R3-billion to R4-billion in proceeds from the sale of noncore businesses it forecast at the start of its far-reaching restructuring in late 2023, having signed deals worth R2.4-billion over the past few months.

The company has already received proceeds from the R1.1-billion Much Asphalt disposal and CEO Holger Riemensperger says that he does not foresee any difficulties in meeting the outstanding conditions precedent in relation to the sale of Schirm USA and its Food & Beverage unit.

AECI has entered into a R1.1-billion asset purchase agreement with Liberation Chem-Toll for Schirm USA, a chemical toll manufacturer with formulation, packaging and warehouse facilities located in north Texas and southern Illinois and will sell the Food & Beverage business as a going concern to a South Africa-based private equity company.

It has also closed Schirm Germany's Baar-Ebenhausen site to avoid €3-million in future restructuring costs and environmental liabilities, and is still planning to sell the Schöenebeck and Luebeck sites in future, having repurposed the Wolfenbütte to be retained as a mining chemicals production hub.

AECI is also planning to sell its Sans Fibres, public water and animal health units, as it refocuses on growing and internationalising its core chemicals and explosives businesses.

Riemensperger says with transactions of R2.4-billion either completed or close to completion, AECI is closing in on the lower end of its expected proceeds range of R3-billion, despite describing market conditions as favouring buyers over sellers.

The outstanding disposals could be either finalised or announced over the coming 12 months, but Riemensperger tells Engineering News that his priority is to realise fair prices for the remaining businesses, especially given the efforts it has made to improve their performance and prospects.

Should offers fall short of fair value, the group would wait for better offers to arise, he confirms.

In parallel, he says good progress is being made in growing the core international businesses, particularly in the six key markets of Australia, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Indonesia and Zambia. These markets make up 95% of the JSE-listed group's mining explosives business, with South Africa contributing the balance.

During the six months to June 30, AECI recorded three contract renewals with major mining clients in those countries, where strong sales helped offset the operational problems experienced at Modderfontein, in Gauteng.

Modderfontein experienced an unprecedented 16 power interruptions during the first four months of 2025, while it also declared force majeure, owing to inadequate supply of an input material known as lead azide.

While South Africa remains a key production hub and market, Riemensperger confirms that the future of the historic Modderfontein site is under review, with a decision expected in November.

During the interim period, AECI reported a 134% period-on-period rise in group headline earnings a share of 604c and declared a 100c-a-share dividend, on the back of a 24% rise in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of R1.6-billion.

The group expects to continue its positive performance during the second half, but Riemensperger says the results will lag the financial aspirations set as part of the restructuring, largely owing to the underperformance of Modderfontein in the first half.

Eskom has launched its long-threatened legal review of the regulator's decision to grant licences in 2024 to five electricity traders, as well as a cross-border trading licence - a move that has again raised some concern that South Africa's electricity reforms are stalling.

Eskom's challenge comes despite the fact that similar licences have been approved in favour of several other electricity traders over the past more than ten years and against the backdrop of the recent launch by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) of a process to consult on and Gazette trading rules by June next year.

Nersa is named as the first respondent in Eskom's July 23 application to have the licences reviewed and set aside, alongside Green Electron Market, CBI Electric Apollo, GreenCo Power Services (which also received a cross-border licence last year), Discovery Green and NOA Group Trading.

While the licences were all granted in 2024, Nersa published its reasons for decision for the licences in question only between April and the end of June this year; a development that Eskom indicated it was awaiting before moving ahead with its review application.

In its affidavit, Eskom argues that the five trading licences represent a fundamental and unilateral change in policy by Nersa that could "upend" the entire landscape of electricity provision. It would also allow traders to "poach" Eskom customers to the detriment of its tariff pricing structure and those customers reliant on subsidisation to gain access to electricity.

The State-owned utility lists six objections to the licences, including:

A lack of a governance framework and rules, without which Eskom argues it is not sensible or appropriate to grant trading licences;An "unlawful" infringement of Eskom's existing licence and areas of supply;A 'cherry-picking' of profitable customers by traders;Unfair competition, based on a claim that traders are able to implement more flexible pricing than is the case for Eskom;A lack of a stipulation by Nersa that applicants for trading licences have prior consultation with Eskom when these applications affect the utility's licence areas and customers; andAdverse impacts on Eskom's tariff recovery and subsidies, owing to Eskom's assertion that the current tariff is not designed for multiple traders, particularly in relation to the recovery of fixed costs and the socialisation of risk.

"Granting trading licences without addressing these fundamental issues will lead to unintended consequences, contravene existing rules and licences, compromise the orderly development of electricity infrastructure, and negatively impact the broader South African economy," the affidavit reads.

No mention is made of the previous trading licences granted by Nersa prior to the 2024 awards, but the utility contends that these most recent five licences should be overturned on grounds that the regulator's decision was irregular and irrational.

STATE OF REFORM?

Krutham's Peter Attard Montalto says the development indicates that Eskom is likely to resist reforms in the electricity sector unless and until it is convinced that all the imponderables and uncertainties have been ironed out.

"However, reform is always messy, so the question really should rather be whether enough of a safety net financially has been put in place for Eskom.

"In this case the answer is probably no, especially when considering the municipal arrears situation, which will take at least five more years or so to resolve - but financial and creditor issues cannot be an excuse to not reform," he says.

To ensure the reforms are not derailed as a result of Eskom's reticence, Attard Montalto believes there is a need for a much stronger statement of the end state of Eskom's balance sheet and capital structure.

"We urgently need a restatement of the Eskom roadmap with this kind of detail from Operation Vulindela so that the shareholder compact is properly aligned with the reforms."

EE Business Intelligence MD...

Water utility Rand Water's extensive months-long maintenance from May to July was a necessary disruption to increase capacity and resilience, while improving plant availability, reliability and operational efficiency.

The maintenance, which impacted various municipalities throughout Gauteng, with many suburbs left without water for days, also aimed to ensure the prevention of a bulk water infrastructure collapse amid rising demand.

Facing questions around the outages experienced during the maintenance period and concerns around water supply, Rand Water CEO Sipho Mosai on Tuesday assured that there is no bulk water crisis.

The water utility would not be able to provision for the above-average bulk water demand had that been the case. However, maintenance, despite the disruptions that come with it, are critical, he pointed out during financial services firm PSG's Think Big series webinar, streamed on Tuesday.

"You have to proactively maintain, upgrade and refurbish infrastructure. That is what we are doing. It is something, in my view, that should be commended," he said.

The utility has a well-articulated and well understood infrastructure management model that dictates how and when upgrades and maintenance take place, and embeds the philosophies of proactive maintenance to ensure that that the bulk infrastructure does not collapse.

In response to questions around prolonged maintenance completion delays, he said that the maintenance schedules were completed on time, with no delays.

"It is incorrect to start saying it is prolonged. It was completed on time. The challenge that I would agree that people are facing is the system recovery."

In under taking the programme, there was a need to take certain systems out of commission.

Often, water interruptions emerges days after the maintenance starts, as the system becomes depleted.

"Water does not work like electricity," he said, noting that the system takes time to recover, sometimes up to a week.

"I think this is what the frustration is. How do we make the system recover quickly? If we had our way, we would recover the system immediately for everybody, [but] it takes time, and our communication throughout has been very clear that it will take time for the whole system to recover."

Further adding to this is the clearly articulated local distribution network challenges: high water losses and nonrevenue water and aging infrastructure.

He reiterated that provision of supply is three-pronged: the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is the custodian of all water resources, responsible for all the water in South Africa.

Water utilities such as Rand Water buy the bulk water and purify it, and are responsible for building and maintaining related bulk water infrastructure, including purification works, pipes, pump stations and large quantity reservoirs.

This water is then sold to municipalities, which are responsible for distribution to endusers.

Rand Water committed to helping municipalities resolve water challenges.

"We have taken an active role to be part of the solution," Mosai commented, noting the establishment of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) with the municipalities to resolve some of the challenges.

Further, DWS is reviewing many pieces of legislation, including ensuring that the water services provision is undertaken by a water services authority capable of carrying out the mandate and ringfencing water and sanitation revenue.

These revisions will also assist in halting the rapid increase of municipal debt due to the water boards.

"This is putting a serious drain on our ability moving forward. In the long term it is a matter of concern."

Despite this, Rand Water continues its large-scale capital projects.

"If you look at what we are investing in the next five years, from the bulk point of view, we are talking R40-billion or so," said Mosai.

This includes upgrades to wastewater treatment works and new capacity to meet future demand.

"We are not going to be simply looking at m...

French energy group EDF says the consolidation of its two international low-carbon businesses into a new entity called EDF power solutions has repositioned it to implement multi-technology projects in the 25 countries in which it operates, including South Africa, where it has a goal of closing 5 GW of projects by 2030.

EDF power solutions Southern Africa VP Tristan de Drouas says the merged entity, which combines EDF Renewables and the EDF Group International Division, has expertise in wind, solar, hybrid, hydropower and pump hydro storage, battery energy storage systems (BESS) and biomass.

He reports that the new-look independent power producer is aiming to add some 500 MW of new projects yearly in South Africa to 2030. This, in addition to its four operational wind farms with a combined capacity of 142 MW in operation and 1.5 GW of wind, solar and BESS assets currently under construction across 11 sites.

"The projects are expected to come online between the end of 2025 and 2026.

"They include solar farms, BESS, wind energy facilities, and the construction of a Main Transmission Substation for the national utility, Eskom," de Drouas adds.

He notes that EDF power solutions has also seen rapid growth in demand from private offtakers, facilitated by its Envusa Energy JV with Anglo American, which will seek to develop up to 5 GW of renewable-energy capacity by 2030.

The company, which has been present in South Africa since 2009, has also achieved recent successes in securing BESS projects through public auctions, which have been launched to help Eskom manage a higher penetration of variable renewable electricity.

"Our Oasis 2 project, awarded in the second bid window of the Battery Energy Storage Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, exemplifies this shift.

"With 77 MW of capacity and 308 MWh of storage, it is designed to stabilise supply and enhance grid resilience."

The combined entity, de Drouas reports, will also be pursuing hydropower opportunities in Southern Africa and Lesotho, owing to the group's expertise in the technology.

"In Africa, the Nachtigal hydro plant, which EDF power solutions built in Cameroon became operational on 18 March 2025.

"This flagship project delivers 420 MW, supplying 30% of Cameroon's electricity needs.

"It serves as a model that EDF power solutions intends to replicate across Southern Africa, with projects currently under construction in Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar," de Drouas says.

The projected passenger electric vehicle (EV) fleet in South Africa by the beginning of 2030 will be 25 456 vehicles, representing only 0.3% of the expected passenger vehicle population in South Africa.

This is according to the GreenCape 2025 Electric Vehicles Market Intelligence Report.

GreenCape is a non-profit group that aims to drive the widespread adoption of economically viable green economy solutions in Africa.

At the end of last year, the cumulative passenger EV market in South Africa reached 3 543 vehicles, with a total market value of R2.8-billion.

The GreenCape report anticipates that the introduction of mid-range-priced EV models will drive higher adoption rates between 2026 and 2030.

Based on the current EV adoption rate of 1.9% in mostly the luxury and high-end vehicle segment, it is projected that extending this rate to the mid-range-priced market could result in additional EV sales of about 21 913 vehicles by 2030, with an estimated market value of R13.9-billion.

The electric bus industry is currently the second largest South African market for EVs by value.

There were about 66 000 registered buses, bus trains and midibuses in the country at the end of 2024.

At that time, the cumulative electric bus market in South Africa stood at 156 vehicles, with a market value of R1.1-billion.

Based on bus fleet operators that have made public announcements regarding their electric bus roll-out plans, sales are expected to grow by 420 buses between 2025 and 2030.

The cumulative market size for the electric bus sector by 2030 is, thus, projected at 576 vehicles.

As for the South African commercial vehicle market, by the end of last year this market reached 172 vehicles, valued at R250-million.

The market is expected to grow to 1 000 vehicles by 2030, with a value of R1.43-billion.

Between 2025 and 2030, an additional 828 EVs are expected, valued at R1.18-billion.

This growth will be driven by increasing affordability, rising fuel costs, pressure to decarbonise, government incentives and improved infrastructure, all of which should make EVs a more attractive and feasible option for the freight and logistics sectors, states the GreenCape report.

E-bikes Speed Conundrum There are a number of regulatory hurdles that are likely to influence electrification efforts within the mobility sector, warns the GreenCape report.

According to the new National Land Transport Amendment Bill passed at the end of last year, an electric bicycle - which is growing in popularity as a cargo bike for last-mile delivery - is considered as a vehicle if its speed is not limited to below 25 km/h.

The implication is that electric cargo bikes that are not speed governed, will no longer be considered a bicycle - which means they will no longer be allowed to use bicycle lanes.

They will also require a driving licence, as is the case with electric motorcycles.

"It remains to be seen if there will be continued growth in micro-logistics using e-cargo bicycles outside of highly localised delivery ecosystems," says the report.

"It [should] also be noted that e-cargo bicycles are becoming popular in Soweto for first-mile delivery . . . serving the micro-logistics demand for township shops and retailers."

The specific challenge for electric three-wheelers, in turn, is that they are only allowed on urban roads, and not on freeways.

This limits the range of last-mile delivery options, particularly in South Africa, where residential suburbs are far away from the central business district.

This means that e-commerce platforms will have to develop localised distribution centres closer to residential customers to leverage the use of electric three-wheelers for last-mile delivery.

The GreenCape report notes that there are also some regulatory barriers around the length and weight of electric extra-heavy commercial vehicles, which exceed the regulatory limits for public roads.

The local truck industry is, however, engaging with government around updating the weight and...

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses a business organisation's frustration with Transnet; indications that reforms in the electricity sector are not moving ahead as expected; and whether there is a risk that reforms in these two key economic industries may stall now

Several licensed electricity traders canvassed by Engineering News have welcomed the decision by the regulator to initiate a process to finalise rules for domestic and cross-border trading and have also expressed an eagerness to participate in the process so that the outcome is fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) recently outlined a process and timeline for crafting a "fair and balanced framework for electricity traders", with the intention of having the rules Gazetted by June next year.

Having already licensed some ten traders since 2014, Nersa also confirmed that these entities were entitled to continue operating while the rules were being finalised.

Engineering News subsequently approached several traders for their reaction, including PowerX CEO Thembani Bukula, who is leading an entity that was licensed in 2014 and who is also chairperson of Nersa.

While stressing that he can not participate personally owing to his position at the regulator, Bukula confirms that PowerX will definitely participate in the process over the coming months.

EXCESSIVELY LONG TIMELINE

However, he describes the timeline outlined in Nersa's statement as "excessively long", but expresses confidence that it can be revised after the concerns and inputs of stakeholders have been considered.

"Trading is an activity that is enshrined in the legislation and the outcome can only conform to the legislation, with whatever rules that emerge also needing to fulfil the requirements of the enabling legislation," Bukula avers.

Apollo Africa, Discovery Green, Envusa, Etana Energy, Energy Exchange of Southern Africa (EXSA), Enpower Trading, and NOA Trading also welcomed the regulator's initiative, which has arisen following recent objections by Eskom to the licensing of traders, citing a lack of clarity on the rules.

The State-owned utility, which has indicated that it will pursue a legal review of some of the most recent licence awards, tells Engineering News that it also welcomes the Nersa process.

LEGAL CHALLENGE

However, it refrained from stating whether it is sufficient to halt its legal challenge, indicating only that its legal application has not been launched, owing to the fact that not all the reasons for decision (RFD) have been published by Nersa.

"The six-month review period to challenge the Nersa decision starts to run from the date of publishing the RFDs, of which Eskom's external attorney are busy finalising," Eskom tells Engineering News.

While some traders have refrained from commenting on whether Eskom is likely to proceed with its review, Enpower Trading CEO James Beatty believes the basis for continuing legal action may be less compelling in light of the Nersa process.

"We believe this regulatory clarity, once formalised, will help address many of the uncertainties raised and provide a stronger foundation for constructive engagement across the sector," Beatty says.

Apollo Africa CEO Ed Cameron, meanwhile, says that, while a legal review is possible, he is not aware of any formal steps having being taken by Eskom since the publication of the Nersa decision.

Along with Bukula, Beatty and Cameron, Discovery Green CEO Andre Nepgen, Envusa CEO Nicole Mason, Etana Energy head of business development Jevon Martin, EXSA CEO Wayne Cowie, and NOA Trading CEO Andrew Taylor have all expressed their support for both the process and Nersa's intention to create greater certainty about the rules.

Nepgen acknowledged Eskom's frustration with what it views as gaps in the regulatory framework, and expresses optimism that the new rules will address these concerns even to the point where the utility feels comfortable to reverse its decision to exclude traders from using its newly launched virtual wheeling platform.

VIRTUAL WHEELING EXCLUSION

Nepgen confirms to Engineering News that Eskom's decision came as a surprise, as Discovery Green has been a keen supporter of the platform, and its Ampli Energy JV w...

Six solar PV projects, with a combined capacity of 1 290 MW, have been named as preferred bidders following the seventh bid window (BW7) of South Africa's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

All the projects are located in the Free State province and achieved competitive bid prices of between R499.99/MWh and R514.06/MWh.

The bidding round, which was launched in December 2023 and had the bid submission deadline postponed to August 2024 from an initial deadline of the end of April, had an overall allocation of 5 000 MW, divided between solar PV (1 800 MW) and onshore wind (3 200 MW).

The solar PV allocation was substantially oversubscribed, with a total of 40 projects submitted, representing a combined capacity of 8 526 MW.

However, only eight onshore wind projects with a combined capacity of 1 692 MW were submitted; an outcome that was attributed to prevailing grid constraints and restrictive grid-access rules. These grid-related constraints came to the fore during BW6 in 2022, when none of the 23 wind projects vying for 3 200 MW advanced to the preferred-bidder stage.

The imbalance in the bid response led to a reallocation of capacity to solar PV from wind for the round, where winning bidders would secure 20-year power purchase agreements and their electricity would be bought by Eskom.

On July 22, the Department of Electricity and Energy (DEE) named the following six projects as preferred bidders:

The 180 MW Dwaalboom 3 Solar project, being advanced by Red Rocket South Africa together with black-empowerment partners MBY Energy and Jade-Sky Energy, with a price of R499.99/MWh;

The 210 MW Virginia 4 Solar Park, also being pursued by Red Rocket South Africa together with black-empowerment partners MBY Energy and Jade-Sky Energy, with a price of R504.87/MWh;

The 200 MW Florida Solar Park, again being advanced by Red Rocket South Africa together with black-empowerment partners MBY Energy and Jade-Sky Energy, with a price of R506.89/MWh;

The 240 MW Oslaagte Solar 2, being pursued by Scatec Solar Africa together with black-empowerment partners Greenstreet and Redstreet SPV, with a price of R509.02/MWh;

The 240 MW Oslaagte Solar 3, also being pursued by Scatec Solar Africa together with black-empowerment partners Greenstreet and Redstreet SPV, and also with a price of R509.02/MWh; and

The 220 MW Leeuwspruit Solar 1, again being advanced by Scatec Solar Africa together with black-empowerment partners Greenstreet and Redstreet SPV, with a price of R514.06/MWh.

The department said it had appointed a further eight compliant preferred bidders, subject to value for money negotiations. No timeframe was provided for the conclusion of these talks.

"Further announcements will be made in this regard once these processes have been concluded."

The identities of the further eight projects were also not disclosed, but the DEE confirmed that four were wind projects and the other four were solar PV, which could proceed on the basis of capacity having been re-allocated to solar PV from wind during BW7.

Meanwhile, Scatec confirmed in a statement that it had been awarded preferred bidder status for a total of 846 MW of solar PV in what it called "the Kroonstad PV Cluster", while also providing higher capacity values for the three projects than announced by the department.

It said Oslaagte Solar 2 and Oslaagte Solar 3 would have a capacity of 293 MW apiece, while Leeuwspruit Solar would have a 260 MW capacity.

Scatec also announced that the estimated total project cost for the solar cluster project was R13-billion and that the projects would be financed with up to 90% non-recourse project debt and the remaining by equity from the owners.

Scatec will own 50.90% of the equity in the project with Stanlib's infrastructure fund, through its renewable energy platform Greenstreet, along with Redstreet, owning 46.50% and a Community Trust holding 2.6%.

"The Kroonstad PV Cluster represents a significant addition to Scate...

State-owned freight logistics group Transnet insists that it has made "considerable progress" in implementing reforms in line with government policy changes. It also argues that government guarantees remain crucial for it to proceed with its capital investment programme, while also refinancing maturing debt, accessing funding and maintaining sufficient liquidity.

Transnet made these assertions in response to questions posed by Engineering News following the publication of a letter by Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busisiwe Mavuso in which she argued that the entity was "resisting change and moving too slowly".

Mavuso also linked a recent S&P Global downgrade of Transnet's credit rating both to its financial predicament, as well as a lack of reform progress. She also urged government not to approve further bailouts and/or guarantees, unless the conditions were made stricter.

"Private sector partnerships (PSPs) in ports and rail concessions must be accelerated.

"Companies are ready to invest in our logistics infrastructure, but they need certainty that political interference and Transnet's resistance won't undermine their investments," Mavuso wrote.

Transnet is already trading with the support of a R47-billion government guarantee extended in 2023, and a further R51-billion guarantee facility was recently approved.

In response, Transnet said the reforms were a focal point in its strategy to improve operational efficiency and included steps to corporatise the Transnet National Ports Authority and the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager, while disposing of noncore assets.

This commercial separation of the port and rail infrastructure from operations is designed to enable open access to the network, including by introducing private train operating companies into freight rail.

"The integration of the private sector through PSPs is an important element of the reform process.

"This is in line with our efforts to modernise rail assets, such as locomotives and freight wagons, and optimise rail operations by leveraging private-sector efficiency and capital," Transnet said in its response.

It said it welcomed the recent conclusion of the Department of Transport's request for information process to gauge market interest for PSPs in selected rail and port infrastructure and operations.

"Private sector participation in key freight logistics corridors such as those for iron-ore and manganese exports represents a proactive and strategic move towards the revitalisation of the country's freight logistics infrastructure."

However, it also underlined the importance of the government guarantees, arguing that they enabled Transnet to fund much-needed capital investment, which was necessary for modernising ageing infrastructure and improving port and rail efficiencies.

"The government guarantees will be deployed to ensure that the appropriate level of liquidity is maintained to service all Transnet's obligations."

The group stressed that its immediate priority was on actively implementing focused interventions to enhance its operational and financial performance.

"These measures will enable Transnet to deleverage its balance sheet and focus on optimising its capital investment programme to restore the network."

Transnet also underlined its participation in the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC), which had been set up to collaboratively address South Africa's transport and logistics challenges.

It described the NLCC as a "structured and appropriate forum for Ms Busi Mavuso to contribute to constructive dialogue and problem solving".

President Cyril Ramaphosa has offered an optimistic assessment of the economic reforms being undertaken in South Africa's electricity and freight logistics sectors, amid growing concern about the pace of progress with regard to opening the country's railways and ports to competition and signs of potential stalling in the electricity sector.

In his weekly letter, Ramaphosa highlighted the release of the latest progress report on Operation Vulindlela, the scope of which was recently widened by the Government of National Unity to include municipal recovery, digital services and spatial equality components.

The initiative previously focused on addressing unreliable electricity supply, inefficient rail and ports, high data costs, water-licence backlogs, and a visa system that had deterred investors and tourists.

Linking the reduction in loadshedding over the past year to the reforms, Ramaphosa said that, during the second wave of Operation Vulindlela there would be accelerated moves to introduce competition in electricity generation to introduce greater choice for consumers and drive down costs.

"As part of this process, work is under way to establish an independent Transmission System Operator (TSO) within the next five years, in line with the Electricity Regulation Act.

"We have also made significant progress towards enabling greater investment in our transmission network, including from the private sector, with regulations to govern these investments."

However, recent developments in the electricity industry have also raised concerns that the pace of reforms is slowing, with Eskom showing a willingness to exercise its market dominance and with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) still not adequately capacitated to shepherd through the regulatory changes needed for the transition.

Recent developments in relation to electricity trading have provided some visibility of the problems that are emerging, with Eskom having objected to the most recent licensing of traders and having excluded traders from using its newly launched virtual wheeling platform.

While Eskom has consistently expressed its commitment to reform, and the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) is making significant progress in establishing the South African Wholesale Energy Market, the utility has also argued that an orderly transition should be based on established rules, which it says are not yet in place.

In response, Nersa has belatedly announced a process for establishing trading rules by June next year; a development which Eskom has told Engineering News was an "important step forward in the evolution of the electricity industry in South Africa".

Nevertheless, the utility has not withdrawn is threat to seek a legal review of the licences, telling Engineering News that the legal application had not been issued earlier because not all reasons for decision (RFD) had been published by Nersa.

"The six-month review period to challenge the Nersa decision starts to run from the date of publishing the RFDs, of which Eskom's external attorney are busy finalising."

TUSSLE OVER TSO

Some commentators have also expressed concern about the pace of unbundling at Eskom, which is meant to be separated into Eskom Generation, the NTCSA and the National Electricity Distribution Company of South Africa in line with a 2018 roadmap.

While NTCSA has been legally separated, it has not yet been fully unbundled to form the independent TSO referred to by Ramaphosa and there is also still much haggling over the future of the transmission assets.

The transfer of these assets to NTCSA is likely to be key to ensuring that it has the balance sheet to finance the much-needed expansion of the network.

In light of this tussle, Ramaphosa's emphasis on the need for an independent TSO could be a signal that he wants Eskom's management to continue to embrace the reforms that are seen as key to accelerating private investment and competition in the sector.

Meanwhile, t...