Fellow Energy Enthusiasts

With the festivities upon us we are all wondering whether we will be eating roast turkey or turkey sandwiches thanks to loadshedding this Christmas.

Based on the Eskom’s most recent statement that “load-shedding will remain suspended until further notice“, it seems as if the power utility is trying its utmost to ensure we are able to celebrate Christmas with fully-cooked food and festive fairy lights. It seems as if we can thank the decreased demand for power leading up to the holiday period, as well as improved generating capacity for the lighter loadshedding we are currently enjoying.

That being said, as always when it comes to Eskom, we will have to wait and see. And perhaps cross our fingers considering this year’s loadshedding stats have been … well … we’ve had 335 loadshedded days out of the 348 days this year so far.  Maybe we better cross our toes too!

However, we are hopeful at this time of the year, and it certainly seems as though there is some movement towards a lit 2024. We wouldn’t expect anything less in a year which will see one of, if not the, most significant national elections since 1994.

The DMRE has today announced that REIPPPP Bid Window 7 has opened. IPP’s are invited to submit bids for 1 800 MW of solar PV and 3 200 MW of wind power by 30 April 2024, just ahead of the anticipated national election date. Preferred bidders’ announcements should follow about 3 months later.

This announcement is hot off the heels of one of the most spoken about court decisions of late: on 1 December, the Pretoria High Court ruled that Government’s failure to prevent the energy crisis that has resulted in widespread loadshedding amounted to an unjustified infringement of various constitutional rights including the right to human dignity. Our very own Tammy-Lynne spoke with News24’s Renée Bonorchis to discuss the judgment.

As we say cheers to 2023, we wish you a wonderful festive season and look forward to many more days of working with you to generate power next year!