Eskom went to “extraordinary lengths” to ensure the Gupta family scored a R4-billion coal supply deal from the parastatal. This is according to a report in the Sunday Times.

The reports states that the Gupta mine linked to the multi-billion rand deal had failed coal quality tests four times, before being awarded the lucrative deal on the fifth try. Shortly after the deal was concluded, it is reported that four Eskom employees were suspended for questioning the quality of the coal.

The Gupta’s mining company, Tegeta Exploration and Resources, had tried since 2011 to score an Eskom deal, but had always been rejected.  A test in March on the company’s coal found it to be “within specifications, but risky” – which resulted in a 10-year deal to supply the Majuba power station being awarded to it.

Two months after the Gupta-owned company started delivering coal, though, the supply was rejected due to poor quality. On 31 August, Eskom sent a letter of suspension to Tegeta – complaining about the sub-standard coal.  However, after voicing “great concern” in the suspension letter, the temporary ban on the Gupta’s coal was lifted five days later.

Four Eskom employees, with over 50 years experience, involved in the quality control process were suspended. Two laboratories which conducted the coal quality tests, SGS SA and Sibonsiwe Labs, were also suspended by Eskom.

The Sunday Times reported that Tegeta claimed Eskom staff had colluded with laboratory staff to state the coal was sub-standard in order to extort a bribe from the Guptas.  Eskom said Tegeta’s coal had subsequently been tested by the SABS, and was found to be compliant.

Tegeta told the newspaper it operated “in line with corporate governance best practice”, but declined to comment on the issues surrounding its supply deal with Eskom.

[Source:  http://businesstech.co.za/news/energy/98241/gupta-family-scores-r4-billion-coal-supply-deal-with-eskom/]

Fears are growing in South Africa that agreements to build nuclear power plants that could be the most expensive procurement in the country’s history will be made behind closed doors, without the necessary public scrutiny.

Among those voicing concern, two government sources say the Treasury is not being included in procurement discussions, despite the massive budgetary implications of a project that experts say may cost as much as $100 billion.

Construction on the first plant is due to start next year, breakneck speed compared with the years of regulatory and environmental checks for nuclear projects in countries such as Britain and the United States.

The Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party, believes the pace of the deal will prevent proper analysis before contracts are signed and huge sums of money change hands.

[Read full article from source]

Johannesburg – Southern African energy ministers said on Friday that the region would achieve energy sufficiency by 2019, wiping out the present shortfall of 8 247 megawatts (MW) of electricity.

They said that the projects for new power generators already under way would produce an additional 24 062 MW of electricity by 2019. This, plus the rehabilitation of existing power plants, would create a surplus of about 15%.

Zimbabwean Minister of Energy and Power Development, Samuel Undenge, announced this after a meeting of Southern African Development Community (‘SADC) energy ministers.

They said in a statement that they expected 70% of the 24 062 MW of new generation capacity to be produced from renewable energy sources – hydro, wind and solar.

[Read full article from source:  http://bit.ly/1JlI1h3]

While the cost of electricity is a constant bugbear in many countries, South Africans face a bigger problem: keeping the lights on. These blackouts prompted Cape Town native Charlotte Slingsby to seek out a solution after her family home was found to be unsuitable for solar panels.

The result was Moya (wind in the Xhosa language), a new energy generation system: sheets of plastic have wave-like filaments attached that capture tiny amounts of wind energy that can then be stored in a battery.

“We need an independent solution for today,” Slingsby said. “You see a city which functions on electricity which just falls apart, from the most basic things like opening a door [or] an electric gate. You can’t even take your car out of the garage.”

[Read full article from source.]