When President Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation travels to the US next week to meet with the Trump administration, they will do so with some guidance in hand from the local automotive industry.

naamsa | The Automotive Business Council CEO Mikel Mabasa says the industry has already engaged with special envoy to the US, Mcebisi Jonas, on the challenges the local industry faces in relation to the new tariff regime announced by US President Donald Trump.

"We definitely want to continue to export vehicles to the US," said Mabasa during the online launch of the naamsa 2025 Automotive Trade Manual.

"It's a very attractive market."

Mabasa said that while a number of analysts had already delivered the funeral rites on Africa's preferential access to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), the South African automotive industry was hopeful for a different outcome when the current agreement came to an end in September.

"We are working with our partners in government to push for that conversation."

According to the 2025 Automotive Trade Manual, the US was South Africa's third biggest export destination in 2024, with new-vehicle and component exports valued at almost R29-billion, up from 2023's R27.94-billion.

New-vehicle exports were valued at R24.6-billion (up from R19.59-billion in 2023) and component exports at R4.4-billion, down sharply from 2023's R7.8-billion.

The trade manual notes that South African automotive exports to the US increased by 500.8% between 2001 and 2024, while automotive imports from the US increased by 741.1%.

South Africa imported vehicles and components from the US to the tune of R22-billion last year, slightly down from the R23.8-billion recorded last year. Around R4-billion of this number were vehicles and the rest components.

"The benefits stemming from Agoa for South Africa are much broader than mere duty- and quota-free access into the US. It also stimulates opportunities for a chain of collaborative arrangements with manufacturing companies from sub-Saharan African countries to access the US duty free," notes the document.

naamsa chief trade and research officer Dr Norman Lamprecht noted that automotive exports to the US had a rocky start this year on the back of the hawkish on-off tariff regime threatened by the new US President.

"This is a very fluid and volatile situation that creates a lot of uncertainty.

"We have seen a first-quarter decrease in vehicle exports [to the US]. Our [vehicle manufacturers] have already adapted, with one new model by a big exporter not going to the US since the fourth quarter of last year."

Lamprecht believes that the South African automotive industry should push for Agoa to survive.

"[Political] parties come and go… Before the US elections it was tabled for Agoa to be extended to 2041."

He noted that import duties had a ripple effect, as they caused higher inflation, slowed down interest rate cuts and created more competition for South African exports.

Energy trader Discovery Green and fuels and chemical group Sasol have teamed up to form a new venture that will supply wheeled renewable electricity to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are keen to reduce their carbon footprints but are not in a position to sign multidecade power purchase agreements (PPAs).

Known as Ampli Energy, the new entity was launched in Sandton by Discovery CEO Adrian Gore and Sasol CEO Simon Baloyi at an event that was also addressed by Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who described it as a pioneering move to "democratise" access to green electricity.

Baloyi announced that Sasol had set aside an immediate 450 GWh of electricity yearly for Ampli Energy customers as part of the first phase.

A portion of this supply will arise from Sasol's operating 69 MW Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm, in the Eastern Cape, but the partners have also dedicated an initial 150 MW of capacity in total to the venture, representing an investment in new generation of R4-billion.

Baloyi noted that Sasol had already entered into PPAs for more than 750 MW of new wind and solar PV generation and that it was on track to procure 1 200 MW by 2030.

Discovery Green, meanwhile, is also procuring renewables both for the conclusion of long-term PPAs with energy-intensive firms and now for Ampli Energy, through which it will offer a short-term 'membership' model on the back of its trading licence.

Discovery Green CEO Andre Nepgen reported that Nando's, Vida e Caffè, Hatfield Motor Group, NetFlorist and several nongovernmental organisations had already signed up as Ampli Energy members and that the "first tranche" was now officially also open to other SMEs.

The intention is to increase the amount of renewable electricity available in future tranches as new generation capacity is added and made available for wheeling through Ampli Energy.

Describing SMEs as the "engine room" of growth and job creation, Gore said that the sector tended to be overlooked in the energy transition, where scale and long-term PPAs were typically required for renewables investments.

SMEs, he said, could not commit to the long-term agreements needed to unlock the massive capital expenditure needed or build new wind or solar PV projects.

Through Ampli Energy, such enterprises would be able to buy renewable electricity on a "hassle-free" month-by-month basis, while replacing a large portion of their fossil-based electricity with green grid-supplied electricity.

CASHBACK PAYMENTS

Negpen told Engineering News that Ampli members would continue to pay their monthly electricity bill as normal to their municipal supplier or Eskom, and would received monthly cashback payments arising from the differential between that tariff and the lower-cost of the wheeled renewable electricity.

"Ampli membership comes with no fees, no hassle and no risk - it's just clean energy," he enthused. "And we are actually rewarding customers by moving to renewable energy through the cashback payments."

The financial reconciliation for the cashback payment could be finalised using Eskom's recently launched Virtual Wheeling platform, which Negpen confirmed with Engineering News Ampli would be joining, but alternative platforms could also be used.

While Eskom is still opposing Discovery Green's trading licence, Negpen reported that the company had participated in Eskom's Virtual Wheeling pilot, and expressed confidence that a resolution would be found with Eskom over its licence.

Through signing up to Ampli Energy, businesses also receive Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) free of charge, helping them to reduce most of their Scope 2 emissions.

"Ampli Energy retires them on the company's behalf, every megawatt-hour is linked to a REC and never split," Negpen assured.

"I think what we have launched is very different and very powerful.

"It de-risks the transition to green electricity for a lot of businesses out there; we hope we can have a substantial impact on the emis...

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokogopa has reaffirmed that deliberations at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) are the "last step left" ahead of Cabinet approval of the updated Integrated Resources Plan (IRP).

In response to a question posed by Engineering News during a briefing on the reasons for the latest bout of loadshedding, Ramokgopa indicated that the Nedlac process was a legislated requirement and that the draft IRP had been delivered to the social partners late last year for their deliberations.

"They will make their report as part of the totality of the submissions that are made by everyone and … to the extent that we think those should be carried into the IRP, we will carry them to the IRP.

"To the extent that we are of the opinion that they will not enhance the IRP, we will make that call and then Cabinet will finally approve," he said, highlighting that policymaking was the domain of the executive.

"As and when Nedlac completes that process, that is the last step that is left and then we go to Cabinet and then we'll make the IRP available to the rest of the country and it's going to guide our work going into the future."

Ramokgopa could not be drawn on persistent concerns over the content of the latest draft, referred to variously as IRP 2024 and IRP 2025, as well as the public consultation process followed.

Commentators have raise problems with the modelling conducted by the South African National Energy Development Institute, which led to an overhaul of the original, and heavily criticised, draft update published by then Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe.

In addition, concern has been raised over what has been described as inadequate public consultations on the latest draft before Nedlac, with stakeholders having been convened at short notice to a meeting where the document, which had not been published beforehand, was shared.

Questions have, thus, been raised about whether the consultation process and the document meet the legal principles of rationality and procedural fairness.

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has fingered cumulative outage slippages of 3 100 MW as the reason behind South Africa's latest bout of loadshedding - the sixth this year.

Speaking after Eskom announced the implementation of Stage 2 loadshedding during the evening peaks from 16:00 to 22:00 from Tuesday May 13 until Thursday May 15, Ramokgopa described the new round of cuts as a "setback".

He attributed the slippages to inadequate planning by Eskom, as well as some capacity problems at the original-equipment manufacturers that implement the maintenance on behalf of the utility.

Nevertheless, Ramokgopa still stressed that recent developments were in line with Eskom's winter outlook, published on May 5, which indicated that loadshedding could be implemented should unplanned breakdowns rise above 13 000 MW.

The base case was for breakdowns to remain below that threshold, however.

On May 13, unplanned losses breached 15 000 MW, as a result of more than 11 900 MW of breakdowns and the fact that 3 100 MW had not been returned to service as scheduled from planned maintenance.

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane confirmed that outage slippages were experienced on two units at Duvha, as well as at Grootvlei, Kriel, Medupi and Tutuka and said urgent efforts were under way to bring the units back as soon as possible.

He described the current period as particularly challenging from an outage slippage perspective, as Eskom was still in the process of tapering planned maintenance ahead of the high-demand winter months but still had more than 4 000 MW on scheduled outages.

HIGHER DIESEL USE

Marokane said the diesel-fuelled open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) were being deployed as planned for six hours daily during the peak periods, and denied any suggestion that these were being used sparingly to save on diesel costs.

He admitted, however, that OCGT usage during the summer maintenance campaign was probably higher than the comparative period last year, but highlighted that Eskom had also conducted more maintenance than during the comparative period.

Between September 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, Eskom had spent R12.4-billion on diesel against a budget of R10.3-billion for the period.

However, Marokane stressed, the overall use of diesel for the full financial year had moderated.

Eskom has reported previously that its spending on diesel fell by R16-billion in the 2024/25 financial year when compared with the 2023/24 financial year.

"The fact remains that, when you look at the last period, we have seen significant savings in diesel costs.

"What's happened in the last three to four weeks may come out as higher consumption than the previous period, but it does not necessarily follow that you can extrapolate that information to say that is going to be the case for the rest of the year," Marokane asserted.

European renewable energy infrastructure company Greencoat Renewables is seeking a secondary listing on the JSE's Alternative Exchange, or AltX.

The company is already listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London and the Euronext Growth Market in Dublin, having concluded its initial public offering in 2017.

It has a market capitalisation of about €850-million and has a portfolio of 40 wind, solar and battery storage assets with a combined capacity of 1.5 GW in five European markets, including Ireland, Sweden, Spain, France and Germany.

The clean electricity generated by these assets is sold to national grids and to corporates directly through commercial power purchase agreements.

CFO Diarmuid Kelly tells Engineering News that the intention behind the proposed JSE listing is to diversify its shareholder base, enhance liquidity and position the company for growth opportunities in Europe.

The company will list all its issued share capital, which is fully fungible, and could consider the issuance of more shares at a future date.

Greencoat Renewables is not planning to develop assets in the South African market, however.

Instead, Kelly says the aim is to offer institutional and retail investors in South Africa an opportunity to invest in a company that has a growing portfolio of assets that has enabled it to implement a progressive dividend policy, which makes payments four times a year.

"The cash generative qualities of our assets combined with our intensive approach to asset management delivers euro-denominated returns that we think will be attractive to the South African investment community," he argues.

Having previously been CFO at Sirius Real Estate, which also has a dual listing on the JSE, Kelly reports that Greencoat Renewables has been assessing a JSE listing for the past 12 months and recently completed a non-deal roadshow on which it met some 20 institutional investors.

He says the legal, tax and regulatory regime governing JSE-listed firms, together with the sophistication of the investment community, made it an attractive option for a possible listing.

In addition, the familiarity South African investors have with real estate investment trusts has also made the JSE attractive, as it means there is an "knowledge overlap" with the Greencoat Renewables value proposition.

The listing is likely to take place in mid-June, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, and Kelly reports that a pre-listing circular should be published in the coming two weeks.

South Africa is taking a step unify its currently fragmented digital initiatives, and modernise public service delivery, with the launch on Monday of the Roadmap on the Digital Transformation of the South African Government.

The roadmap, a critical pillar of the Operation Vulindlela Phase II, which was launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa on May 7, is expected to set the country on path to formalise the integration of government services and to establish a national digital identity.

Approved by Cabinet in March and implemented by Melvyn Lubega-led Digital Service Unit, the roadmap will drive the adoption of digital technologies in government and build digital public infrastructure that can be used by all South Africans.

"It is a significant step in reshaping how citizens access essential services. At its core, the roadmap is about creating a 'One Person, One Government, One Touch' system - a single, trusted platform that connects people to services," said Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi.

This will include a digital identity system, rapid payments to expand financial inclusion and digital access to services such as ID or passport applications.

South Africa embarked on several attempts to digitise service delivery over the years; however, these efforts have often lacked coordination - and falling short of achieving the scope and urgency needed to benefit all South Africans - with many digitisation initiatives being driven independently within departments. In many cases, this has led to duplication, inefficiencies and missed opportunities.

"The lesson we should all take away from this experience is that innovation without coordination cannot deliver real change. With this roadmap, we are shifting from the fragmented past towards a unified, people-first, whole-of-government approach."

The Roadmap for the Digital Transformation of the South African Government aims to overcome the barriers to digital transformation that the government has faced in the past by embracing digital public infrastructure, multi-purpose technologies that are shared across government departments to enable safer, more inclusive and more accessible services.

The roadmap focuses on four catalytic initiatives, including the rollout of a Digital Identity System to verify identities remotely; the development of a Data Exchange Framework to streamline government processes; the introduction of a Digital Payments System for secure transactions; and a zero-rated Digital Services Platform where citizens can access government services without incurring data costs.

"Collectively, these initiatives will help us get closer to achieving our vision of an inclusive, secure, and people-centred digital government," he said.

The roadmap will be implemented in two phases.

Phase 1, to be implemented from 2025 to 2027, will prioritise social protection and focus on digitising services for faster, more reliable access, linking social grants to employment, training and income-generating opportunities to create pathways to sustainable livelihoods.

Further, technology will be used to address issues such as fraud and exclusion in the R370 social relief distress grants, thereby saving money and strengthening public trust.

This phase will deliver immediate, measurable impact and lay the foundation for broader digital reform.

The second phase from 2028 to 2030 will expand focus to other key sectors, such as healthcare, education and business services, building on the lessons learned from Phase 1 to scale successful technologies across government.

"To ensure that all government departments work towards the same goal, the President has appointed the Inter-Ministerial Committee, which I have the privilege of chairing," Malatsi continued.

The Inter-Departmental Working Group, cochaired by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies and National Treasury will collaborate with government departments to drive the technical work that will deliver o...

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) says the decision by the Energy Regulator to approve a curtailment framework will help unlock scarce grid connection capacity for wind projects in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape.

The approval was made by the Energy Regulator, Nersa's highest decision-making structure, on April 29.

The decision arose from its adjudication of an application by the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) for congestion curtailment to be classified as a constrained generation ancillary service.

The NTCSA has indicated previously that, by accepting a reasonable share of no more than 10% of curtailment, 3 470 MW of additional grid capacity to connect wind generation could be made available, including 2 680 MW in the Western Cape and 790 MW in the Eastern Cape.

The absence of an approved framework came to the fore during the sixth bidding round under South Africa's public renewables procurement programme. This, after none of the wind projects vying for a 3 200 MW allocation advanced to preferred-bidder stage after Eskom indicated that the grid capacity in the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape provinces had been fully absorbed.

The outcome led to significant debate about why a mechanism such as curtailment, which is used by system operators globally, was not being employed to maximise available grid capacity at a time when new generation was sorely needed.

Eskom then published a curtailment addendum to its Generation Connection Capacity Assessment and, subsequently, the NTCSA, which is now an independent subsidiary of Eskom, made an application to Nersa to seek approval for the curtailment framework.

Nersa explained in a statement that congestion curtailment meant that the amount of active power that a generating facility was permitted to generate was restricted by the system when there was grid congestion.

The approval is effective from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2028, and allows generators that incur financial losses as a result of congestion curtailment to receive compensation.

However, such compensation is limited to the allowable revenue approved under the sixth multiyear price determination, or MYPD6, for the line item relating to ancillary services and energy imbalances.

Its use is also restricted to facilitating additional wind generation capacity in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape regions, with any additional grid connection capacity unlocked through congestion curtailment requiring the approval of the Energy Regulator.

"The NTCSA must address other forms of curtailment in accordance with the existing grid unavailability provisions outlined in the power purchase agreements or connection agreements.

"Therefore, curtailment required for over-frequency control (resulting from low demand) will continue to be treated as it is treated currently," Nersa said in a statement.

The regulator also announced that the NTCSA would be compelled to report to the Energy Regulator on the implementation of congestion curtailment every six months over the three-year period.

"The report should cover, at a minimum, information on the capacity connected to the grid through this regime, curtailment level implemented, records of the curtailment incidents, costs, progress on systems and ancillary service projects."

Nersa said the conditions were aimed at protecting consumers from potential cost escalations associated with unmanaged curtailment, while also incentivising the NTCSA to accelerate transmission projects and promoting a supportive environment for new renewables investment.

"Through this decision, the Energy Regulator has taken a decisive step in facilitating investment in cleaner energy and supporting the integration of renewable energy into the national grid," Nersa added.

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the official launch of Phase 2 of Operation Vulindlela; the new reform priorities; the new areas of emphasis with the original Operation Vulindlela priorities; and whether there is still political backing for the programme from th

Serious questions continue to be raised about both the content of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity currently being discussed at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) as a precursor to its approval by Cabinet, and the drafting and consultation processes that have been employed.

Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has indicated that he is keen for the updated IRP to be approved soon, given that the prevailing IRP2019 is outdated. However, his initial deadline of the end of March was not met.

The document before Nedlac is referred to variously as IRP2024 and/or IRP2025 and was drafted hurriedly late last year, with scant consultation.

This redrafting followed heavy criticism of the version, then dubbed the draft IRP2023, released in January 2024 by Ramokgopa's predecessor, Gwede Mantashe, which stakeholders rejected partly because its base case included loadshedding until at least 2027.

More than 4 300 public comments were received, and most of the substantial submissions highlighted serious problems with both the modelling and cost assumptions used, which had resulted in incorrect and potentially economically damaging conclusions.

Acutely aware of these criticisms, Ramokgopa, who was appointed Electricity and Energy Minister in the Government of National Unity Cabinet, commissioned the South African National Energy Development Institute to remodel the IRP.

The results were announced in November with a promise that the new draft would be released prior to Cabinet approval.

However, the document was released only for Nedlac consideration and not for broad consultation, despite the material changes included relative to the version released by Mantashe.

MEANINGFUL CONSULTATION?

Speaking during a webinar hosted by EE Business Intelligence, Meridian Economics MD Dr Grove Steyn said that the version currently before Nedlac not only contained technical flaws but also did not include sufficient information to enable meaningful consultation.

"Despite welcome improvements in the technology cost assumptions [compared with the draft IRP2023], overall, the input assumptions remain opaque and poorly documented," Steyn said.

"It is astonishing that the current IRP document does not show data on the technology capacity, energy mix, costs or emissions for the modelled scenarios or the 'Proposed Balanced Plan'.

"Technically this means that it does not qualify as an IRP in terms of the legal definition," he added, highlighting the requirement for policy-making to satisfy the Constitutional principle of legality, which includes a minimal rationality requirement.

Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) executive manager Lebogang Mulaisi also questioned the process, describing the Nedlac discussions under way as the "last opportunity" to influence the policy, despite ongoing concern as to whether the public consultation phase preceding it was truly meaningful.

She questioned, for instance, whether having hosted a workshop with stakeholders and experts with a day's notice could be considered as having been a meaningful consultation.

In addition, Mulaisi reported that the PCC had been struggling "to track how the consultation resulted in an amendments to the updated version".

LOGICAL FLAWS

Steyn also argued that the Proposed Balanced Plan in the document before Nedlac had not been logically derived from the underlying analysis, which only introduced nuclear when the gas build was disallowed. However, the Proposed Balance Plan included both gas and nuclear.

The outcome, thus, "forced" in technologies that were uneconomical and which would rely on public procurement, where the risk of these costs being "socialised" was high.

"South Africa's recent empirical experience with these types of projects provides stark warnings about their enormous risk for cost overruns and opportunities for rent-seeking and even corruption," Steyn said, referring specifically to Eskom's Medupi, Kusile and Ingula me...

South Africa's Government of National Unity Cabinet has endorsed a plan to incorporate three new reform priorities under the umbrella of Operation Vulindlela, which will now oversee and coordinate the implementation of reforms across seven areas in total.

Approved by Cabinet in March, the new reform focus areas included as part of what is termed Operation Vulindlela Phase II, include:

Local government, where institutional, governance and financial reforms will be pursued to address a broad-based deterioration in performance, but particularly in metropolitan councils;

Tackling the apartheid geography that has persisted, by pursuing urban densification and spatial integration to reduce transport costs and connect people to economic opportunity; and

Leveraging digital public infrastructure to modernise State capabilities and unlock economic participation.

These new areas will be pursued together with ongoing economic reform efforts under way in the electricity sector, across the logistics system, in improving water supply, and in reforming the visa system to facilitate tourism and the entry of critical skills.

Speaking ahead of Operation Vulindlela Phase II's official launch by President Cyril Ramaphosa, National Treasury director-general Dr Duncan Pieterse argued that Phase I had proved that well-targeted reforms, when implemented effectively, could have an effect on growth constraints.

In particular, he highlighted the progress that had been made in addressing electricity loadshedding, which had tapered significantly after peaking in 2022 and 2023.

The next phase of reforms in that sector would seek to build on progress as well as find solutions to the serious sustainability problem emerging in the distribution sector, which was resulting in localised outages and arrear debt owned by municipalities to Eskom had risen to over R100-billion.

The Presidency's Rudi Dicks said that a new roadmap for the electricity distribution industry would be developed over the coming year, with the aim of setting in motion plans for the establishment of financially and operationally sustainable distribution companies.

Likewise, there were ambitions to accelerate reforms in the other sectors, including through: introducing private-sector participation in those parts of the freight logistics network still monopolized by Transnet; developing a National Water Action Plan and establishing a coordination structure to ensure water security; and implementing the points-based system for critical skills visas and general work visas.

However, Pieterse said the decision to add three new areas reflected the structural constraints to growth posed by the municipal service backlog and ongoing spatial inequality, as well as by a failure to integrate digital solutions.

"While South Africa's overall growth trajectory remains constrained, these reforms have laid the groundwork for stronger performance over the medium term," he said, adding that the upcoming Budget, to be released on May 21 after two previous failed attempts, will reflect the Operation Vulindlela priorities.

The three new areas were both far-reaching in scope and complexity, particularly the reforms being proposed to strengthen municipal government.

NEW UTILITY MODEL

The Presidency's director of strategy Saul Musker reported for instance, that Operation Vulindlela would be seeking to shepherd in a shift to a utility model for water and electricity services, whereby all metros would be required to establish or appoint ring-fenced, professionally managed and independently licensed utilities.

There would also be moves to ensure that all municipal managers and CFOs met the minimum standards for qualifications, experience and integrity, and to review how local government revenue matched its responsibilities.

Operation Vulindlela would also support the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in publishing an updated White Paper on Local Government "to outline a modern and fit-for-pu...