Star 2023-01-13

Ailing power utility burnt through six million litres of diesel on Wednesday Eskom has warned that it could implement elevated levels of power cuts higher than stage 6 load shedding in a bid to safeguard the national grid if it experiences further multiple unplanned breakdowns. This comes as the perpetually struggling power utility burnt through six million litres of diesel in one day on Wednesday when it ramped up load shedding to stage 6 indefinitely. Stage 6 load shedding means that Eskom has to shed 6 000MW to protect the integrity of the national grid and to avoid a national blackout, curtailing at least six hours of electricity supply during crucial business hours. Eleven generators, amounting to 5 084MW of capacity, suffered breakdowns since Tuesday morning, leaving Eskom with 5…

TRANSNET, now deadlocked with a Chinese train maker that had been part of a fraudulent tender, has issued a tender for any other company that is able to fix its new locomotives. Transnet said yesterday it had reached an impasse with the manufacturer of critical spare parts, China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC E-loco), following the company’s unwillingness to engage with authorities in South Africa to normalise its operations in the country. An open competitive tender would be issued urgently in a bid to rehabilitate non-operational Chinese trains, Transnet said in a statement. The parastatal said it would invite any eligible Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to step in to help with the broken trains. “This is a critical intervention not only for Transnet’s sustainability, but for the South African economy.…

SOUTH African consumers will be paying a cumulative 33.8% more for electricity consumption over the next 2 years, after the energy regulator granted Eskom its tariff hike application, in spite of the floundering energy supply. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) yesterday granted Eskom a 18.65% electricity tariff increase for the 2023/24 financial year, starting on April 1, and 12.74% for the 2024/25 financial year. Nersa announced its decision on Eskom’s Fifth Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD5) allowable revenue application for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years. Eskom’s application for the 2023/24 financial year’s revenue was R351 billion, including Regulatory Clearing Accounts (RCAs) and court orders. However, the regulator approved allowable revenue of R318bn after considering adjustments for inefficiencies and prudency reviews. For the 2023/24 financial year, Nersa approved…

THE number of exchange-traded products (ETPs) listed on the JSE is growing, particularly now that actively-managed portfolios are also accommodated, and industry players are predicting further expansion in the number and variety of products available in South Africa. The number of ETPs listed on the JSE rose from 168 at the end of 2021 to 183 at the end of 2022, according to etfsa.co.za statistics. Part of the growth was the introduction by the JSE of two new categories in October last year. These include actively-managed exchange traded funds (AMETFs) and actively-managed certificates (AMCs). The former allowed issuers and portfolio managers to use actively-managed strategies to provide a return for the investor, instead of passively tracking an index, or other type of asset. The latter are non-interest-paying debt instruments –…

Steinhoff International’s European discount retailer Pepco Group said yesterday that first-quarter revenue had increased after a successful Christmas trading period, and that the opening of new stores would be accelerated. In its first-quarter trading announcement, Pepco Group, owner of the Pepco and Dealz brands in Europe and Poundland in the UK, said group revenue for the first quarter increased by 27% to €1.65 billion (R30.1 billion) on a constant currency basis, up 24% on an actual basis. Pepco said group like-for-like sales climbed by 13% on a constant currency basis, with all brands delivering strong growth. This included like-for-like increases of 4.4% and 19.7% respectively for Poundland and Pepco. According to the group, of which Steinhoff owns 79%, it opened 105 new stores in the quarter and remains on track…

NEWLY unemployed Goldman Sachs workers are tapping head-hunters after losing their jobs in its biggest restructuring since the 2008/9 financial crisis, with a sluggish global economy set to make finding comparable roles a challenge, sources said. Goldman stepped up laying off staff on Wednesday in a sweeping cost-cutting drive, with around a third of those affected coming from the investment banking and the global markets division, a source familiar with the matter said. The Wall Street titan’s rivals have also started to cut jobs as global banks prepare for recession and broader, deeper cuts are expected across the industry if deal-making activity remains weak. At least 5 000 people are at risk of layoffs from various banks. In addition to around 3 200 from Goldman, Morgan Stanley has cut about…