Energy News South Africa

Wet coal, poor weather, breakdowns exacerbate load shedding

Eskom's head of generation, Thomas Conradie, said at a media briefing held late last week that there are currently no plans to increase load shedding from Stage 6 to Stage 8.
Source: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
Source: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

“This has been a very difficult week for all of us due to some plants not being in action,” said Conradie, with wet coal and poor weather conditions contributing to Eskom implementing Stage 6.

“We had problems getting coal because of rain and poor weather but we are maintaining all our power plants,” Conradie said, adding that the parastatal has managed to recover some of its units.

While there is some improvement, Conradie said "some risks" lie ahead.

International consortium to review Eskom’s coal fleet

Recently, Eskom, National Treasury and the Department of Public Enterprises agreed to design a mechanism for building new transmission infrastructure that will allow for extensive private-sector participation.

In this regard, Treasury has appointed an international consortium with experience in the operations of coal-fired power stations to review all plants in Eskom’s coal fleet and advise on operational improvements. The review is scheduled to conclude by mid-2023. Eskom is required to implement the operational recommendations emanating from this independent assessment.

Source: SAnews.gov.za

SAnews.gov.za is a South African government news service, published by the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS). SAnews.gov.za (formerly BuaNews) was established to provide quick and easy access to articles and feature stories aimed at keeping the public informed about the implementation of government mandates.

Go to: http://www.sanews.gov.za
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