Wet coal threatens Eskom power output

wet coal threatens eskom power output

johannesburg - heavy rain in key coal-producing areas could lead to shortages of the fuel at eskom's power stations and further constrain electricity generation, exacerbating south africa's crippling power shortage.

andrew etzinger, an eskom spokesperson, said the utility's coal-fired power stations were at much greater risk of running out of coal than before 2004. until that year, eskom could vary the level at which stations consumed coal because there was surplus generation capacity, but now it was running its stations flat out.

etzinger said that over the past three years or so, which he termed a "new era" for eskom, none of its power stations had been halted because it had run out of coal.

there were heavy rains in gauteng, the free state, limpopo, the north west and mpumalanga from friday until yesterday. louis fernandes, a forecaster at the sa weather service, said rainy weather was likely to clear up later this week, but heavy rain was still forecast today, especially in limpopo.

etzinger said the heavy rain in mpumalanga, where eskom had most of its coal-fired power stations, turned coal into mud, which needed to be dried before it could be burnt. the rain had affected deliveries to eskom, but "not to a significant degree".

jacob maroga, eskom's chief executive, said on friday that coal shortages had already curtailed electricity production at some power stations. but he could not be specific about the utility's level of stocks.

in june eskom said it was buying up to one-fifth on its coal on the spot market rather than using its contracts with coal mining firms. the utility then had a stockpile of more than 6 million tons at its power stations, equal to about 18 days of supply. sources say the stockpile is now down to only a few days of consumption.

exxaro resources, anglo american and bhp billiton, which together supply eskom with close to 100 million tons a year out of total consumption of 120 million tons, said the rain had affected only their opencast mines. it had had only a small effect on deliveries to eskom.

but ernest venter, exxaro coal's general manager, warned that if the rain continued in the medium term, supply to eskom would suffer. exxaro's grootegeluk mine in limpopo, which has contracts to supply the matimba and medupi power plants, had not been affected. the rain had hit the leeuwpan mine in mpumalanga "a little".

bronwyn wilkinson, a bhp billiton spokesperson, said the group was keeping its coal mines "pretty close" to required levels for deliveries to the kendal, hendrina and duvha power stations.

anglo spokesperson pranill ramchander said anglo coal's opencast mines had been affected by the rain, but this had not hit deliveries to eskom.