Eskom facing Christmas load-shedding: report

Power utility Eskom is facing a coal supply crisis that could lead to power cuts over Christmas, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

The paper reported that Eskom is dangerously low on coal which could lead to load-shedding as early as next month.

Energy analyst Ted Blom, said that the “scale of Eskom’s supply, financial, and equipment problems” may result in it shutting down before the end of the year.

According to Bloomberg, 10 of Eskom’s plants have less than 20 days of coal stocks, while the Sunday Times reported that this has since come down to less than 10 days.

Eskom is required to have a minimum of 20 days of coal at each power station, it said.

“This had led Eskom to start using its diesel generators, at far greater cost than it takes to run the coal-fired stations or the Koeberg nuclear plant,” the Sunday Times said.

Eskom CEO Phakamani Hadebe said earlier this week that high levels of unplanned maintenance are also a focus. Power generation availability has deteriorated due to poor coal quality, labour action earlier in the year and financial constraints that led to minimal maintenance, Bloomberg reported.

The company, which is struggling with high debt levels, will need to spend another R1.5 billion ($106 million) at its two new huge coal-fired plants that are already over-budget and behind-schedule.

Eskom briefly implemented rolling blackouts in June for the first time since 2015 after protesters blockaded roads and attacked staff when wage negotiations broke down.

Load shedding can’t be ruled out for the remainder of 2018, the CEO said, adding that the current system status is “not optimal.”

Costly open-cycle gas turbines will likely be required until March because of planned maintenance elsewhere, he said, as reported by Bloomberg.

According to the Sunday Times, Eskom was allocating R11.5 billion over the next year to address coal supply shortages.

To address, its financial woes, Eskom has asked Nersa for a 15% tariff increase per year for a 3-year period.

This is in addition to a 4.41% price increase which has already been granted to Eskom by Nersa.

Read: Eskom is looking for a new operating model as it fires executives