Share

Electricity supply tight, warns Eskom

Johannesburg - The power system was tight but manageable with no rolling blackouts expected, Eskom said on Wednesday.

"No load shedding [is] expected as things stand," spokesperson Andrew Etzinger said.

"We are taking this week one day at a time, so no guarantees for tomorrow at this stage."

A coal storage silo which stored over 10 000 tons of coal at the Majuba power station in Mpumalanga collapsed on Saturday, affecting coal supplies to all six units at the power station.

On Tuesday, trade union Solidarity said the silo had been showing signs of stress since January and Eskom had done nothing to correct the problem.

Etzinger said the silo was inspected last year.

Before the collapse, Majuba supplied 3600MW, roughly 10% of the country's electricity capacity, Etzinger said on Sunday.

Its capacity was reduced to 1800MW and then to 600MW. According to Eskom this had since been increased to 1200MW.

Eskom warned the collapse could cause rolling blackouts across the country.

Democratic Alliance MP Natasha Michael said on Tuesday it had been widely reported that Eskom used wet coal.

This posed a serious danger as the wet coal caused a chemical reaction that placed extra pressure on a silo, she said.

"It is very plausible that the collapse of the silo, and the resulting national rolling blackout, was caused by negligence on the part of Eskom. This possibility needs to be thoroughly and transparently investigated."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.52
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.16
+0.3%
Rand - Euro
19.91
-0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.22
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.3%
Platinum
979.06
+1.3%
Palladium
975.00
-0.9%
Gold
2,313.86
-0.4%
Silver
27.25
-0.7%
Brent Crude
83.33
+0.4%
Top 40
70,790
+0.2%
All Share
76,930
+0.2%
Resource 10
61,038
-0.6%
Industrial 25
107,159
+0.1%
Financial 15
16,711
+0.7%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders