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medupi power stationlatest news & developments
Matimba coal-powered station in Lephalale. (Paul Botes/AFP)

Eskom at risk of stage 13 load-shedding if it doesn’t shape up, says new report

‘Prudent operation and maintenance practices’ could prevent up to six stages of load-shedding, according to the report from the VGBE

Eskom is awaiting government approval to get the 100 megawatts of power offered by the Mozambique energy ministry in July.

The Fiscal Cliff | Eskom: The fiscal monster the treasury can’t vanquish

Among state-owned entities, the beleaguered power utility is far and away the biggest risk to the public purse

(John McCann/M&G)

Khaya Sithole: State caught in a precarious balancing act

State-owned entities have to match society’s expectations with harsh economic realities

Mail & Gaurdian

Editorial: Crocodile tears from the coalface

Pumping limited resources into a project that is predominantly meant to extend dirty coal energy in South Africa is not what local communities and the climate needs.

16 November 2020. Residents of Steenbokpan Village have to fill reserve containers with water as municipal tap water supply has become limited and erratic. The proposed water pipeline to the area will not improve their situation as it will be supplying the mines and power stations almost exclusively. Photograph: James Puttick.

‘We struggle for water, but power stations and coal mines don’t’

A proposed pipeline will bring water polluted with Gauteng’s sewage to the Waterberg in Limpopo to boost the coal industry during the climate crisis

Apology

On 31 July 2020, the Mail & Guardian published an article with the headline “Eskom cancels dodgy R100m tender”. The headline was false and no contract was ever cancelled between…

Medupi Power Station is a dry-cooled coal-fired power station being built by Eskom near Lephalale in Limpopo province, South Africa. The name chosen for the station, Medupi, is a Sepedi word for “rain that soaks parched lands”.

The story of SA’s biggest power plant, and its little town

Before Big Coal, Lephalale was a small town with little water and few jobs. Two power plants have changed it

Former PIC chief executive Dan Matjila. (David Harrison/M&G)

Dan Matjila’s grand plans to save Eskom

The former PIC chief muses over PIC debt-for-equity, privatisation and selling off power stations

Links: Jabu Mabuza and Eskom said the former chairperson never sat in on discussions about the contracts with Nomvula Mabuza , a distant relative.

Mabuza contract grows by R10m

Eskom’s negotiators in a R100-million maintenance contract came back with a proposal to push up the costs

(John McCann/M&G)

Free up energy before the budget

Cyril Ramaphosa wants to do the right thing – bring independent power producers on to the grid. He must act despite opposition from top ANC members

What’s in a name:
Former Eskom chair Jabu Mabuza claims that he did
not know about his relative Nomvula Mabuza’s company and her bid for a boiler maintenance contract at Eskom.  (Felix Dlangamandla/Foto24/Gallo Images)

Mabuza’s ‘distant relative’ scored big

Eskom’s woes are often because of boiler problems at its power plants. R50-billion has been set aside to fix them, but some of the contracts are going to questionable entities

The power utility’s tender cleanup exposes rifts inside Megawatt Park amid allegations of selective prosecution

Some tips for Eskom’s new boss

Regular maintenance, zero corruption and no emergency coal procurement are the main issues

KwaZulu-Natal residents who are unemployed, financially struggling and hungry have lambasted Eskom’s proposed 36.1% tariff hike. (Dean Hutton/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

On top of everything else Eskom also loses furniture worth R5-million

Items meant for the more than R300-million defunct Kusile accommodation project goes missing but no one is facing arrest

The treasury’s relaxation of procurement rules will allow the state utility to attend to its ageing power stations far quicker (Paul Botes/M&G)

Power stations truck up Eskom’s image

Despite the exorbitant costs of new facilities, they are not delivering on expectations

$3.05-billion of the loan was dedicated to completing the Medupi coal-fired power station in Limpopo. (Madelene Cronje/M&G)

Cancel Eskom’s odious debt to the World Bank

It was never in the public interest to incur a debt of $3.75-billion to build coal-burning Medupi

$3.05-billion of the loan was dedicated to completing the Medupi coal-fired power station in Limpopo. (Madelene Cronje/M&G)

Eskom’s Medupi and Kusile to cost R36bn to complete, will not be halted — Mabuza

​Construction on the issue-ridden Medupi and Kusile power stations, which began in 2007 and 2008, will go ahead

Chief electoral officer of the Electoral Commission of South Africa, Sy Mamabolo. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Load-shedding a concern for 2019 poll

A power outage during the counting process could place the process at risk and at worst, compromise the credibility of the election

(Oupa Nkosi/M&G)

Eskom cannot rule out more rolling blackouts in coming months

The power utility is facing a myriad of problems, warning it cannot rule out the continued possibility of load-shedding for the coming 6-12 months

File photo: Oupa Nkosi

Importing power is not the answer

What South Africa needs is affordable, reliable and clean energy

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says he plans to appear before Parliament’s public enterprises committee to give the legislature a detailed report on the challenges facing Eskom. (David Harrison/M&G)

Gordhan promises action to keep the lights on

During the Sona debate, the public enterprises minister outlined the steps being taken to halt load-shedding