Energy News South Africa

Load shedding looms as Eskom runs out of coal

South Africans may face another bout of load shedding because Eskom has only 20 days' coal supply at 10 of its 15 power stations.

The embattled utility places most of the blame on the Gupta-owned mining company, Tegeta, (currently under business rescue) for failing to deliver on its contract. “This has forced Eskom to transfer coal away from power stations with healthy stock levels to the three that Tegeta is contracted to supply, said Eskom spokesman, Khulu Phasiwe.

“Although Eskom generally has adequate capacity to meet demand for most hours of the day, the power system becomes severely constrained during peak hours, prompting Eskom to use diesel in order to ensure security of power supply.”

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