1. 3.POWER STATIONS
In 1923 the South African electricity public utility Escom (the Electricity Supply
Commission) was established. In 1986 the name was changed to ESKOM, by the
government of the day.
Eskom is the largest producer of electricity in Africa, and among the top seven
utilities in the world in terms of generation capacity. The company generates
approximately 95% of electricity in South Africa.
There are 10 Coal-fired power stations in operation with 3 others in the process of
being returned to service, if not already commissioned. Similarly, R300 billion will be
spent over the next 5 years to create additional capacity to come online by 2025.
With the state of the economy over the past decade, growing faster then expected
Eskom has been unable to meet the demand for electricity to accommodate for
economic growth. Eskom relies on coal for 90% of its power generation but has
vowed to invest in renewable energy and more efficient coal technologies to help
improve the carbon record of South Africa, now the world’s 12th largest polluter.
Eskom plans to replace old coal plants, which it will start decommissioning from
2025 with more efficient technologies to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, now at
230 million tons.
(Daily News, October 8, 2009)