Eskom’s Medupi Unit 1 was synchronised to the grid on Tuesday evening, ahead of schedule. Unit 1 is the last unit to be synchronised to the grid at the Lephalale-based plant.
Browsing: Energy and sustainability
Government could decide that Eskom must sell some of its coal-fired power stations as part of the restructuring of the power utility, national treasury said.
Eskom, struggling with more than R440-billion in debt, has said it will take as long as three to five years to comply with the government’s plan to split the company into three separate units.
An acceleration in economic growth in South Africa could trigger power cuts, with state utility Eskom’s fragile generation system unable to respond to increased demand for electricity.
The cost of producing hydrogen using renewable energy sources is set to drop sharply over the next decade, making it competitive with supplies extracted from fossil fuels and enhancing its role in the clean energy transition.
Labour unions that oppose the government’s plans to split Eskom into three units will ultimately have to support the reforms, according to mineral resources & energy minister Gwede Mantashe.
The area around coal-fired plants owned by Eskom ranks as the world’s second largest hotspot of sulphur dioxide emissions, according to Greenpeace.
The chief executive role at Eskom, considered the most challenging job in corporate South Africa, is attracting interest from people who know how difficult turning around the debt-ridden state utility will be.
Eskom wants the majority of its R440-billion of debt transferred to the South African government.
Eskom urgently needs a plan to turn profitable or South Africa’s state-owned utility will collapse under mounting debt, according to credit agency Moody’s Investors Service.