SA to revamp old power stations

Eskom has contracted coal supplies it requires for the next five years and will rather renew than decommission its ageing coal fleet.

Cape Town - South African power utility Eskom has contracted coal supplies it requires for the next five years and will rather renew than decommission its ageing coal fleet, the firm's chief executive said on Thursday.

State-owned Eskom is building new plants to improve power supplies as it ramps up electricity generation to plug a shortage that forced the utility to implement controlled blackouts early last year that dented economic growth.

Read also: Eskom: No load-shedding this year

More than 80 percent of the electricity in Africa's most industrialised country comes from coal-fired power plants, some of which had been mothballed but were returned to service to help boost electricity supplies.

REUTERS