South Africa’s Eskom Misses Winter Coal Stocks Target

Eskom Holdings Ltd., South Africa’s state-owned electricity utility, missed a target for increasing coal stocks, raising the risk of power cuts with the onset of winter in the southern hemisphere.

Stocks have climbed to 16.2 days of consumption, after dropping below 10 days in January when heavy rain disrupted mine output, Andrew Etzinger, demand-side general manager at Johannesburg-based company, said in a speech today. Eskom had targeted stocks of 20 days by April 30.
“We’ll only be comfortable when we’re at 20 days,” Etzinger said in an interview. A cold spell of three to four days would cause a “massive spike” in energy demand and likely result in another round of power cuts, he added.

Eskom, Africa’s biggest power company, generates more than 90 percent of its electricity from burning coal. While the utility suspended outages across towns and cities on May 4, it’s still rationing power to mines and smelters. Shortages will last at least seven years after the government delayed approval of Eskom’s expansion plans.

Bloomberg