- Eskom chief, Phakamani Hadebe has announced that new coal contracts have been concluded.
- The new contracts will enable Eskom to reverse the decline in coal stock levels.
- Coal will also be diverted from well-stocked power stations.
- The imitative will bring a marked improvement to stock levels from December onward.
The Eskom multidisciplinary teams continue to work tirelessly on the 9-point recovery plan to improve generation and operational performance while also stabilizing the system.
Eskom Group Chief Executive Phakamani Hadebe says, “We have managed to conclude new coal contracts that will enable us to achieve an upwards turning on declining coal stock levels and bring about a marked improvement from December onward, albeit slowly. Our short-term strategy to augment coal stocks at power stations that were below the minimum days is two-pronged, namely, coal procurement and diverting coal from well-stocked power stations.”
“We aim to improve coal stock levels at the impacted power stations from December and grow the total stock days from an average of 25 to 28 days by the end of the current financial year,” adds Hadebe.
South Africans are requested to be vigilant as we anticipate an increase in coal trucks on the roads while transporting coal around Mpumalanga where we restore our coal stock levels to grid code heights.
Eskom has battled to avert load-shedding due partly to poor supplies from the two Gupta owned mines currently under business rescue, Tegeta and Optimum. The two mines form part of the Zondo commission into State Capture.
Eskom chief Phakamani Hadebe has the unenviable task of navigating the state owned energy utility through the current coal stocks crisis plus maintenance and operational challenges, in order to avoid load shedding. All the while labour unions NUM and NUMSA apply pressure and often subversive tactics to uphold their workers interests as the country’s renewable energy program starts to re-spark.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
