Just two months after the US accused South Africa of supplying Russia with arms to aid its war in Ukraine, the Americans have given Eskom R24 million.
The grant was awarded to the state entity to fund necessary expertise and technical assistance, to help expand and strengthen SA’s power grid.
The US Trade and Development Agency on Tuesday signed an agreement with Eskom that will see the power utility being awarded $1.3m for exploring new technologies, including green power.
This deal came on the same day that Eskom announced load shedding will be ramped up to Stage 4 – and at a time when the country is gripped by a cold front.
In August, the USTDA announced its support of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) that was established between SA and several developed countries – including the US – in 2020.
The JETP included an initial offer of R159 billion to help fund the country’s transition from coal to renewable energy.
This funding was provided by France, Germany, the US, the UK, and the European Union.
At the time, USTDA director Enoh Ebon said the agency’s activities in SA were already aligned with the JETP, and that feasibility studies were being pursued and technical support provided for renewable energy, smart-grid and battery storage projects in several countries.
Currently, South Africa’s power grid is so severely constrained that the country is not able to develop any renewable energy projects.
This funding has therefore been welcomed by Eskom.
Meanwhile, the power utility has ramped up the use of its emergency generation facilities since the weekend, as it tries to balance reduced capacity from its coal-fired plants amid an increased demand for power due to the koue weather.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za