Overview
- Eskom announced a National Power Agreement offering a 62c/kWh tariff to ferroalloy and ferrochrome smelters, with Samancor and the Glencore–Merafe venture provisionally accepting the deal.
- The agreement becomes effective only after urgent approval by the energy regulator Nersa, and it includes a five‑year lock‑in that the minister said prevents users from quitting when prices turn against them.
- Eskom said the plan could bring R5–R8 billion back in industrial revenue if producers refire up to 25 furnaces, roughly 1,500MW of load, which would also support its liquidity without higher general tariffs.
- Thousands of jobs hang on implementation, with Section 189 retrenchments on hold for now; Glencore’s ferroalloys chief told staff to report for shifts while talks continued and said safeguarding jobs remains a priority.
- Power makes up about 40% of a smelter’s costs, the January tariff of 87.74c/kWh proved too high to restart most furnaces, and the new rate undercuts the national average retail price above 220c/kWh to keep local processing viable.