President Cyril Ramaphosa says that he will, in the coming days, announce a comprehensive set of actions to achieve much faster progress in tackling load-shedding, which has worsened significantly over the past three years and has intensified in recent weeks to the point of being implemented at Stage 6.

Since the start of the year, Eskom has implemented 73 days of load-shedding and the utility is forecasting that rotational power cuts of between Stage 2 and 4 will be required for at least another week as it seeks to recover from a recent illegal strike, precipitated by a wage deadlock that has since been settled.

In his weekly newsletter, the President acknowledged that it was “no time for business as usual”, adding that “we need to act boldly to make load-shedding a thing of the past".

He stressed that, while there were no easy solutions, government was committed to exploring “every avenue" and using "every opportunity to ensure that we generate enough electricity to meet the country’s needs”.

“Over the past two weeks, we have been working with the relevant Ministers and senior officials on a range of additional measures to accelerate all efforts to increase our electricity supply.

"The message is clear: this is no time for business as usual. We need to act boldly to make load-shedding a thing of the past."

He said that the measures that had already been taken by government to address the crisis would "secure the supply of reliable and affordable electricity into the future", but that government was now looking at what additional measures could be taken immediately to "bring that goal closer".

"What the past two weeks have demonstrated is that we need to do more and do so with the utmost urgency," Ramaphosa added, referring to the particularly intense implementation of rotational power cuts by Eskom that coincided with a wildcat strike at a number of its coal stations.

Speaking following the publication of the President's newsletter on Monday morning, Eskom CEO André de Ruyter said that there had been various meetings over the weekend involving The Presidency, as well as other Ministers and officials to discuss ways to address load-shedding, including by introducing more capacity to the grid at an accelerated pace.

De Ruyter reiterated that up to 6 000 MW of capacity was needed to provide Eskom with the time and space it required to implement the maintenance across the neglected and poor performing coal fleet, and thus reduce the risk of load-shedding.

"We are working in a very close and collaborative fashion with all the roleplayers in government to try and accelerate the solutions that we have to bring on more capacity to the grid as soon as we can."

He confirmed that Eskom intended following up its recent release of 18 grid-ready land parcels in Mpumalanga, which is expected to result in the addition of 1 800 MW of new private renewables, with the phased release of a further 30 000 ha in the same province.

This land-release programme would probably be conducted on a quarterly basis.

Ahead of Ramaphosa's newsletter, the National Planning Commission (NPC) had called for the declaration of an ‘energy emergency’ to override any red tape currently preventing the construction of new electricity capacity, as well as to make it possible to build 10 000 MW of new generation and 5 000 MW of new storage capacity over the coming two years.

“The most immediate priority is to ensure that new generation capacity is rapidly and urgently brought on to the grid, together with significant new storage capacity.

“Evidence suggests it is possible to do this within 24 months, if 10 000 MW of new generation capacity is rapidly constructed and commissioned as well as 5 000 MW of storage capacity,” the NPC said in a statement, noting that solar and wind power projects could be built rapidly.

Ending load-shedding, the commission added, needed to become a “unifying national goal for the whole country and all stakeholders”.

To achieve the objective...

Amid ongoing delays in returning Koeberg Unit 2 to service, as well as delays to the steam generator replacement (SGR) programme across both Koeberg’s reactors, Eskom has announced the resignation of its chief nuclear officer, Riedewaan Barkadien.

COO Jan Oberholzer said on Monday that Barkadien, who has worked at Eskom for 27 years, would depart on July 31 to join a Canadian nuclear utility in an executive position.

Keith Featherstone would act in the role of chief nuclear officer, while a recruitment process was undertaken. Oberholzer reported that Featherstone had over 30 years of nuclear experience, including having previously been Koeberg power station manager.

It was also announced that Mahesh Valaitham would act as Koeberg power station GM, owing to the fact that the current acting GM, Nomawethu Mtwebana, had been selected to join the World Association of Nuclear Operators, which is based in the US, as a reverse loanee for the next year.

Mtwebana would depart for Atlanta once the current outage at Unit 2 had been completed towards the end of July.

The Unit 2 outage, which has contributed a full additional stage of load-shedding during the most recent intensive bout of rotational power cuts, has been extended from an initial return to service deadline of mid-June. This, despite the fact that Eskom announced in March that the replacement of the unit’s three steam generators had been delayed until August 2023, owing to a lack of readiness.

The SGR programme has been described as key to Eskom securing a Long-Term Operations licence from the National Nuclear Regulator to extend the life of the plant by a further 20 years. The licence is currently due to expire in July 2024.

The replacement of the Unit 1 steam generators, meanwhile, is still planned to take place during the unit’s upcoming extended maintenance, scheduled for December.

Oberholzer said it was “not ideal” that the SGR programme had been pushed back by two years and that the Unit 2 replacements would take place so close to the expiry of the licence.

“[The delays have] unfortunately created a situation that we are cramping what needs to happen for the long-term operation of Koeberg right until the end, and that means that the risk obviously is increased.”

However, he stressed that the project team had been bolstered, while the capacity of the outage team had been beefed up with the recent appointment of an experienced ex-Koeberg executive.

“We are also employing some help from international companies that have done these steam generator replacements before [and] we will also be sending some of our colleagues to visit power stations where these replacements are taking place, or have taken place, to make sure that we put everything in place to have a successful steam generator replacement project.”

There are growing concerns, however, with Koeberg Alert Alliance’s Peter Becker - who was controversially removed from the NNR board by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe in February - having warned recently that the SGR delays would attract significant penalties from the main contractor, Framatome.

In a recent Cape Talk interview, Becker also questioned the decision by Eskom to proceed with its plan to extend Koeberg’s life, arguing that it would be better to focus on ensuring the safe operation of the reactors to the end of their licence period, so as to limit load-shedding and to create space for the building of replacement renewable generators.

The absence of the 920 MW Unit 2 for a protracted period, including during the high-demand winter months, had resulted in higher levels of load-shedding stages and the more frequent and extended use of the expensive diesel-fuelled open-cycle gas turbines.

Eskom has defended its decision to proceed with projects that would enable it to secure a licence to operate Koeberg for a further 20 years on the basis that the power station was a reliable provider of relatively low-cost electricity in a fleet dominated ...

Dimension Data’s Bryanston Campus, in Johannesburg, is currently the site of a ‘war room’ that has been set up specifically to deliver real-time graphics and digital analysis to the broadcasters of the 2022 edition of the Tour de France cycle race, as well as the race organisers.

Staffed by a team of data specialists and engineers, the war room forms a core part of the overall technology solution being provided by Japanese technology multinational NTT, which owns Dimension Data and is technology partner to the Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.).

A.S.O. is the owner and operator of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, as well as other major international sporting events including the Dakar Rally, the Tour Voile yachting race, the Paris marathon, and the ladies French Open golf.

The South African team is being supported by NTT specialists in the UK, the US, Australia and Europe to manage incoming data from the race and to conduct real-time analysis, which is then provided to broadcasters in a format that can be seamlessly integrated into their coverage.

In addition, the information provided allows the production team to track riders and speeds in real-time which further enhances the viewing experience.

“From the start of our involvement with the Tour de France eight years ago, we’ve leveraged our skills in South Africa as well as our other teams around the world,” Dimension Data Southern Africa head of applications Lauren Wortman tells Engineering News.

“In 2020, we moved to a hybrid support operation with team members around the world as well as on the ground in France.

“In 2020 and 2021 this was delivered exclusively on a virtual basis and in 2022 we’ve moved to a hybrid model with a core support team supporting the Tour de France solution based at the Campus in Bryanston and our Big Tech Truck ensuring that any issues that need a hands-on approach are addressed,” Wortman explains.

NTT has also created a “digital twin” of the physical event, mapping all the elements of the race, from the riders through to race vehicles, the route, and the areas around the start and finish of each stage.

“This provides race organisers with an accurate digital representation of the real world, enabling them to build plans, monitor the race in real-time and anticipate situations using real-world data.

“This capability provides A.S.O. with the insights they need to optimise race operations and provide fans with deeper insights.”

The actual solution being deployed is split into three key components: sensors, transmission and data; real-time analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning; and making sense of the data.

A transponder inserted under the saddle of each bike continually transmits a rider’s latitude, longitude and speed and is transmitted through primary and secondary transmission networks.

“We designed the data collection endpoints to be redundant. This architecture was put in place so that in the event of hardware or software failure, the hot standby server can be activated to enable service continuity.”

NTT’s real-time analytics architecture lies at the heart of the Tour de France solution, which has been designed, using multiple components and integration types, to ingest data and analyse it with sub-second timing.

The data is then aggregated, filtered and analysed, before being applied to a set of algorithms to offer insight into the race, from rider speed and gaps to gradients and distance from finish.

The initial three data points of the rider’s latitude, longitude and speed is turned into over 50 data points, which means that for every Tour stage the solution is creating 50 data points per second per rider.

This information is then converted into easy-to-understand graphics that are used by broadcasters and various other platforms including: Race Center; @LeTourData, 3D Race Tracker, media walls at departure and arrival villages; and a new concept known as ‘Digital Human’, where NTT’s Big Data truck...

Less than five years since the launch of the current Polo model, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has seen the 500 000th unit roll off the production line at its Kariega plant, in the Eastern Cape.

The current Polo was launched in January, 2018, with a refreshed model introduced at the start of this year.

The 500 000th unit, a white left-hand-drive GTI which will be exported to France, also marked the 4 202 260thvehicle built at the Kariega plant to date, which means the current Polo model accounts for almost 12% of all vehicles built here since 1948.

Of the 500 000 Polo units, 90 004 were built for the local market and 409 996 were destined for export markets.

Included in this are 77 397 units of the facelifted Polo.

VWSA currently exports the Polo built in Kariega to 38 countries. The local arm of the German car maker builds the vehicle for all right-hand-drive markets, while also supplementing production for left-hand-drive markets.

The Kariega plant is also the sole manufacturer worldwide of the Polo GTI.

“As VWSA, and one of only two plants worldwide building this vehicle, we are proud to achieve the half-million mark,” says VWSA production director Ulrich Schwabe.

“Despite difficult circumstances in the industry and the global community, the VWSA family has persevered to bring us this milestone. Just as we faced the challenges as a team, we will celebrate this achievement – and many more to follow – as a team.”

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) will invest R16.1-billion at the Mossel Bay, Saldanha and Cape Town ports in a seven-year capital investment programme.

The capital investment programme will see R2.2-billion flow to the Port of Mossel Bay, R8.4-billion to the Saldanha harbour and R5.5-billion to the Port of Cape Town.

“Our capital investment plan demonstrates our commitment to the operationalisation of our reimagined TNPA operating model that was launched in 2021,” says TNPA western region managing executive advocate Phyllis Difeto.

She says the aim is to prioritise capital projects that will create future capacity, while also answering the immediate need for enhanced port efficiency.

Looking at the current financial year, TNPA aims to invest R452-million in the western region ports.

At the Port of Mossel Bay some of the key capital projects include a slipway facility refurbishment and Quay 3 sheet pilling.

These key projects all form part of the port’s R10.2-million port infrastructure development plan for 2022/23.

Projects that are spread across the seven-year period include the deepening of the port and Quay 4, as well as a breakwater extension.

The capital projects planned for the Port of Saldanha for 2022/23, valued at R182-million, are already underway, and include the acquisition of a tugboat, installation of perimeter fencing and provision of bulk power.

The broader seven-year programme includes the extension of Berth 205, berth construction, as well as the refurbishment of the main breakwater and causeway rock revetment.

In the current financial year, the Port of Cape Town will see the delivery of a R260-million capital programme.

This includes the procurement of a helicopter and the replacement of two tugboats.

Phase 2 of the Cape Town Container Terminal expansion and the acquisition of ten dry dock cranes all form part of the port’s seven-year capital programme.

Difeto says that she is confident that the realisation of the port infrastructure and superstructure development plans will translate into improved port efficiency.

“As we sharpen our focus on capital investment deliverables, we acknowledge the historical under-expenditure,” she notes.

“It is for this reason that we have adopted a fresh approach to project execution – an approach that ensures all hands-on deck from the project sponsors, engineers and support teams through participation in capex war rooms,” adds TNPA infrastructure GM Thecla Mneney.

Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about load-shedding continuing to dominate headlines, the energy solutions that have been proposed and an update on South Africa's renewables procurement programme.

The City of Cape Town’s Informal Settlements Department have marked a thousand structures in the Bosasa Phase 2 development in Mfuleni with a Quick Response (QR) code and city-specific paint.

Field maps have also been created to indicate the associated number of each structure.

The next phase will see officials return to the numbered structures to proceed with the electronic capturing of survey questions. This survey data will then be displayed live on a dashboard with immediate access to individual information.

The aim of the pilot project is to enable direct interaction between the city and residents in informal settlements, and to provide up-to-date data for planning and budget purposes, says City of Cape Town Human Settlements MMC Malusi Booi.

“Most importantly, each structure owner will be issued with a residence certificate linked to their respective identity document (ID), global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, electricity meter number, name, address and QR code.”

Booi notes that the entire process is Protection of Personal Information Act compliant.

He tells Engineering News Online that the project forms part of the city’s efforts to progressively realise tenure for informal settlement residents.

The QR code acts as an electronic address, linking it to the owner, while the residence certificate indicates who lives in that particular structure, and that he or she is the legitimate owner of the allocated structure.

“This project even makes the issuing of a postal address possible in future,” says Booi.

He notes that the project may also enable the city to eventually realise revenue from the residence, but emphasises that it is not the intention.

The QR Code, structure number, name and ID of the resident will, however, be linked to a prepaid electricity meter number.

Another benefit of the QR code project is that it could potentially aid the city in mapping a settlement’s size and spread.

“This could be possible in future,” says Booi. “Although the measurement of any growth of a settlement will firstly be detected by daily patrols and annual aerial photography, following which the additional structures are to be numbered and QR-coded.

“Checks are then completed to ensure any new location is not compromised in terms of flood prone areas/wetlands/environmentally sensitive area and [land] ownership, or that it’s in the way of future large-scale infrastructure projects.”

Booi says the city is “very excited” about this new method of socio-economic contact.

“We are adapting to and making use of new technologies, even in the most vulnerable of communities, so that we may continue to provide the best possible services to our residents.”

Volkswagen on Thursday lifted the veil on its new Amarok bakkie, set to replace the current Amarok after 12 years in the marketplace early next year.

The current Amarok was launched in South Africa in November, 2010, and has sold 41 422 units in the local market.

The new Amarok was designed in Germany and Australia, and will be built in South Africa.

Assembly will take place alongside the new Ford Ranger at the US car manufacturer’s Pretoria plant, as part of a global agreement between the two car makers.

The new Volkswagen Amarok measures 5 350 mm in length (96 mm longer than the predecessor) and has a wheelbase of 3 270 mm (173 mm longer than the current model).

Depending on the model and specification, loads of up to 1.2 t can be accommodated.

The new Amarok also offers a maximum towing capacity of 3.5 t.

Engine derivatives on offer on the global product include three 2 l four-cylinder turbo-charged diesel engines providing between 110 kW and 154 kW of power, as well as a six-cylinder 3 l turbo-charged engine with a power rating of between 177 kW and 184 kW.

The only petrol engine on offer is a four-cylinder 2.3 l turbo-charged drive train with 222 kW of power.

The Amarok also has a new range of wheel options and, for the first time ever, the bakkie will, depending on the derivative, also be sold with ex-factory all-terrain tyres.

Inside, there is a new digital cockpit and a vertically-aligned display unit with a ten- or twelve-inch screen.

The new model also comes with more than 30 driver-assist systems – 20 of which will be found in the Amarok for the first time.

The new Volkswagen Amarok will go on sale in South Africa from the first quarter of 2023.

Eskom’s Grid Access Unit reports that it has received payments for 179 cost estimate letters, or CELs, and has issued 53 such letters, following the April 6 issuance of a request for proposals (RFP) for Bid Window Six (BW6) of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

Speaking during a virtual bidders conference hosted by the IPP Office, the unit’s head, Azwimbavhi Mamanyuha, reported that a total of 219 grid-access applications had been received by Eskom in relation to BW6, the bid submission date for which is August 11.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) is aiming to procure 1 600 MW of new onshore wind and 1 000 MW of new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity under BW6, which is the second REIPPPP bidding round to be held since the resumption of the programme in 2021, following a seven-year disruption.

Financial close for the earlier BW5 programme, under which 25 preferred bidders were identified, had been delayed. However, IPP Office head Bernard Magoro reported that he was still confident that the first BW5 projects would achieve financial close by the end of July – the new deadline set for some of the projects after the April deadline was missed, partly to accommodate delays to the issuance of grid-connection budget quotes by Eskom.

Mamanyuha acknowledged that the Eskom had previously been perceived as a stumbling block due to the late issuance of CELs and budget quotes, but he reported that the unit’s human resources had been beefed up and its processes refined to improve turnaround times and fairer capacity allocations.

He said that, provided that the required information was submitted timeously and the submission was for areas where Eskom still had grid capacity, the Grid Access Unit was now in a position to provide CELs in 90 days and budget quotes within 120 days.

There have been reports, however, that some BW5 projects are also facing difficulties as a result of supply-chain disruptions and input price increases, while several were also struggling to meet local-content commitments.

Officially, the first 14 BW5 projects are scheduled to achieve financial close before the end of July, with the remaining 11 expected to close by the end of September.

There have been persistent suggestions, however, that further delays are possible. This, despite the urgent need to inject new generation capacity into the grid to lower the risk of load-shedding, which has intensified to the point where Stage 6 rotational cuts have been implemented to sustained system balance.

In his address to more than 800 conference participants, Magora underlined the urgency of adding new capacity and appealed to prospective BW6 bidders to factor in the new risks that had emerged in recent months so that their projects could begin generating as soon as possible.

LOCAL-CONTENT EXEMPTIONS?

The local-content thresholds included in the RFP presented another potential risk and Magoro said that the IPP Office was engaging with various stakeholders on the matter, including the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition “to ensure a balance is reached between competing interests, whilst also ensuring that we continue to kick-start local manufacturing capacity across the supply chain”.

“In this respect, we are hoping to provide clarity if there's any exemption that will be granted before 21 July so that bidders still have enough opportunity to finalise their bids.”

Magoro also highlighted global supply-chain disruptions as a major risk factor for potential bidders, indicating that some of these had come to the fore during REIPPPP BW5.

In addition, he advised bidders to be aware of Eskom’s grid constraints and urged potential BW6 bidders to use the information provided in Eskom’s Generation Connection Capacity Assessment for the period to 2024 (GCCA), which had not been available to BW5 bidders.

The GCCA points to a dearth of grid capacity in the renewable-resources-rich Cape provinces, but points to ca...

The National Planning Commission (NPC) has called for the declaration of an ‘energy emergency’ to override any red tape currently preventing the construction of new electricity capacity, as well as to make it possible to build 10 000 MW of new generation and 5 000 MW of new storage capacity over the coming two years.

“The most immediate priority is to ensure that new generation capacity is rapidly and urgently brought on to the grid, together with significant new storage capacity.

“Evidence suggests it is possible to do this within 24 months, if 10 000 MW of new generation capacity is rapidly constructed and commissioned as well as 5000 MW of storage capacity,” the NPC said in a statement, noting that solar and wind power projects could be built rapidly.

Ending load-shedding, the commission added, needed to become a “unifying national goal for the whole country and all stakeholders”.

To achieve the objective of rapidly adding new generation and storage capacity, the NPC said it would be necessary to remove key obstacles, including:

removing the 100 MW ceiling on distributed generation projects, as Eskom’s grid code and grid-connection authorisation processes were sufficient to regulate this market;

scrapping any National Energy Regulator of South Africa registration processes that delay implementation and replacing these with an online registration procedure for database purposes only;

streamlining environmental and water-use approvals, while taking fuller advantage of the Renewable Energy Development Zone framework that allows for fast-tracking of such approvals; and

introducing a temporary exemption from local-content requirements for construction and commissioning of new generation and storage capacity due to come online in the next 36 months. In parallel, key stakeholders should reach a formal agreement that strikes a balance between short-term importation of components with the need for phasing in upstream industrialisation over the medium- to long-term.

The NPC statement was released amid a protracted period of intense load-shedding, which began in late June and was, at times, implemented at Stage 6 during a unprotected strike at Eskom, precipitated by a wage deadlock.

The utility and its three recognised unions signed a 7% wage agreement on July 5, which debt-ladened Eskom said would add a further R1-billion to its wage bill and would be a struggle to afford.

The statement also follows a progressive intensification of load-shedding over the past three years, with 2021 having officially been declared as the worst-ever year for rotational power cuts, but with 2022 poised to eclipse that title.

The NPC stressed that the National Development Plan to 2030 could not be achieved without energy security and noted that load-shedding, which has been a feature of the electricity supply industry since 2008, was constraining many developmental policies and strategies.

The NPC welcomed the statement that President Cyril Ramaphosa was leading the response to the energy crisis.

It also took note of recent government efforts to reform the energy supply industry, as well as the interventions of Operation Vulindlela that had helped to ensure timely implementation of solutions.

However, the NPC argued that “the declaration of an ‘energy emergency’ is required that will make it possible to override some of the red tape that is preventing the acceleration of delivery of new generation capacity”.

The commission also highlighted the importance of mobilising finance for short- and longer-term investments needed to arrest load-shedding and place the electricity supply industry on a stable footing.

“To this end, the NPC welcomes the establishment by the Presidential Climate Commission of a Forum comprising South African development finance institutions led by their respective Chief Executives.”

It also called for Integrated Resource Plan to be updated yearly “to meet South Africa’s energy needs, including incorporating technology advances to e...