Author: Trent Meikle

After a rough week for Eskom and by extension, the country, the power provider finally has some good news. PetroSA, a state-owned oil company, has offered 50 million litres of diesel to the power utility, available immediately. Eskom announced its inability to purchase more diesel last week, which led to its Ankerlig and Gourikwa power stations hitting the off switch on their open-cycle gas turbines. If you’re thinking “50 million litres is probably enough to last Eskom ages, right? Right?” Nope. At its current burn rate, the much-needed lifeline is set to only last around two weeks at most. Yikes.…

We’ve had just over a week to come to terms with the Central Energy Fund’s (CEF) predictions. It was rough – a petrol increase of R1.00 looked likely – and diesel was on its way down for the first time in ages. If you thought that was good, you’ll love the predictions this week. According to statistics captured yesterday, 23 November, the CEF predicts a huge drop for diesel drivers. Petrol drivers aren’t as lucky to have a complete reduction, though the numbers are certainly more favourable compared to last week. Disclaimer time: these numbers aren’t final. The CEF makes…

November is the month of Black Friday – the last Friday of the month when people lose their minds over middle-of-the-road deals that they (probably) wouldn’t have bought any other time of the year. When a South African network provider has deals, however, it’s probably a smart idea to check them out. MTN has joined the fray with MTN Supersonic – for customers whose connection is at home and/or on the go. Deals began last Friday, 18 November and are running until 4 December. SIM-only Deals First up, we have MTN’s SIM-only deals. You have the choice of three deals:…

The end of e-tolls is around the corner. Finally. After months, nay, years of trying and failing to make the system profitable and worth the hassle, the time has come to officially say goodbye. The Gauteng provincial government has pledged R12.9 billion to aid the e-tolls decommission. In a meeting with Sanral, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi and finance minister Enoch Godongwana, a plan was hatched to repay Gauteng’s portion of the debt. It will raise the money through “different revenue streams in the form of a hybrid model”, which could take some time to fully realise, according to Lesufi. The…

Customers on MTN’s network have somehow managed to access Downdetector – reporting troubles with the internet service provider since the early hours of this morning, 22 November. Issues range from a complete lack of signal to intermittent coverage. A number of Stuff’s team have corroborated those claims by the simple expedient of checking their own devices. MTN is down bad Companies that piggyback off the network also began experiencing the same troubles. Afrihost and Axxess noted that they were aware of the outage. “We are currently investigating with MTN and working on restoring services as soon as possible,” Axxess said.…

South Africa is in a pit – one that’ll cost R1.5 trillion (1,500,000,000,000 – that’s 12 0’s) to climb out of. It has already secured $8.5 billion from the world’s top countries to start moving away from coal. Still, it’s a far cry from the finish line. According to Barbara Creecy, South Africa’s Environment Minister, the country is once again in talks with more nations willing to help the cause. While discussing the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET) at COP27, Creecy said “We’ve had some bilaterals where there’s been additional interest shown.” President Ramaphosa later added, “…we are now going…

NASA does a fly-by After months of trying (and failing) to get the Orion Rocketship out of Earth’s orbit, NASA finally managed it last week. Since then, “Orion has been performing great so far,” says NASA’s Vehicle Integration Manager, Jim Geffre. “All of the systems are exceeding expectations from a performance standpoint.” It’s going so well that NASA feels the time is nigh for a fly-by of the moon. See, the whole point of the Artemis 1 mission is to test Orion’s ability to safely carry humans to the Moon’s surface. To do that, it needs to actually get there.…

Another day, another load shedding headline. What’s new? For one, the country is currently in the clutches of stage 5 load shedding. For another, Eskom can’t afford to replenish diesel stocks at its Gourikwa and Ankerlig power stations. Diesel is essential to keep the stations’ open-cycle gas turbines turning. The absence of diesel leaves the country open to more severe load shedding over the coming weeks and months. Eskom first revealed its desperation for diesel on Friday, with Pravin Gordhan later holding a meeting between himself and the utility’s board of directors to discuss “serious concerns” surrounding the power utility.…

The Tecno Spark 8C knows exactly what it is – a budget Android smartphone. It looks and feels like a cheaper Samsung doing its best at replicating the higher-budget feel of newer flagships. For R3,000, you can’t expect the Spark to do much more than that. It makes calls, lets you watch YouTube, play Candy Crush, and take passable photos. What more could you ask for (besides a USB-C port)? Pretty in turquoise Perhaps the first thing you’ll notice on the Spark 8C is its rear panel. Where there’d usually be a glass finish, Tecno opts for a plastic back.…

It’s not just greater South Africa heading towards renewable energy as a primary source of power. Hyundai Automotive South Africa has introduced solar energy to its head offices in Bedfordview and dealerships around Gauteng to ease Eskom’s constant bouts of load shedding. Got the greenies? “Due to the frequency of power interruptions brought about by load shedding and the cost of running diesel-burning generators, we investigated the benefits of installing solar power,” said Stanley Anderson, director of sales and operations at Hyundai South Africa. The group has said it now has more than 240 solar panels on the roof of…