ANC hints at possible delay in decommissioning some Eskom coal-fired plants

The African National Congress (ANC) has hinted at the possibility of a delay in the decommissioning of some of Eskom’s coal-fired plants.

Eskom began the shutdown of its  1 000 megawatt Komati power station in Mpumalanga last year.

The decommissioning of end-of-life coal-fired power plants is expected to result in about 22 000 megawatts of generation capacity by 2035.

But some opponents say this will result in job losses.

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Meanwhile, Eskom says it does not foresee rolling blackouts going beyond stage six this winter season.

Speaking on the sidelines of the National Demand Side Management Indaba in Johannesburg, Group Executive for Distribution Monde Bala said the generation team is at work to bring additional capacity online to reduce rolling blackout stages.

Eskom says its objective is to end rolling blackouts as soon as possible, without compromising the integrity of the grid.

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