It is not clear publicly just how bad the picture is across Eskom’s aging coal power station fleet. Strong indications are that things are bad.
Browsing: Andre de Ruyter
Eskom is facing a litany of challenges. Energy expert Anton Eberhard posed questions to the power utility’s CEO, André de Ruyter.
The US, Germany, France and the UK will send a delegation to South Africa as soon as next week to seek a deal to begin closing the country’s coal-fired plants.
Eskom, South Africa’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is evaluating the use of carbon capture at power plants as part of decarbonisation plans to transform the coal-burning utility.
South Africa faces “another era of isolation” if it persists with coal power generation, the CEO of Eskom said, arguing a pivot to cleaner energy would boost the competitiveness of the country’s exports.
Eskom has posted a fourth consecutive annual loss as it continued to service a mountain of debt, repaired ageing plants and lost electricity revenue because of a drop in demand.
Eskom, which supplies almost all South Africa’s electricity from coal-fired power plants, is considering spending R106-billion on wind and solar energy by 2030.
Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has laid out a funding plan to help the company, which generates the bulk of South Africa’s power from coal, transition away from the use of the dirtiest fossil fuel.
Eskom has reduced its debt to less than R400-billion as discussions ensue to secure funding for a transition to renewable energy, according to public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan.
Eskom on Friday said it will implement a conditional 1.5% wage increase, potentially setting the stage for a showdown with unions, which had been demanding far more.