By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@Reuters.
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd chief executive officer Andre de Ruyter traveled to the World Bank’s headquarters earlier this week to hold discussions with the bank as it explores options for transitioning from coal-fired stations to cleaner sources of energy.
The utility supplies more than 90% of the country’s electricity, the bulk of it from coal.
“The Eskom CEO visit was part of ongoing engagement that the bank carries out with counterparts in-country and in Washington D.C., including on proposed projects,” though none have been finalized, a spokesperson for the lender said.
The US, UK, France, Germany and the European Union pledged $8.5 billion (over R130 billion) to help South Africa reduce its reliance on coal at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November, a deal that could serve as a prototype for helping other coal-dependent nations decarbonize.
Details of how the funds will be used are still under discussion.
The World Bank has supported earlier Eskom projects including granting it a $3.75 billion loan in 2010 for Medupi, a 4,764 megawatt coal-fired station. It’s also administrating a $250 million loan from the Clean Technology Fund to finance a battery-storage program, the bank said in September.
Meanwhile Eskom said that it was expecting five generating units to return to service at South Africa’s power plants by Monday afternoon.
In the meantime, South Africans will have to put up with stage two blackouts until Monday morning.
The utility is asking consumers to use less of its only product, when it is available, and it wants you to switch off all non-essential appliances.
It has spent the week battling breakdowns at its power stations and burning through emergency reserves.
While some generating units have returned to service, others have been taken offline. The utility has promised to keep South Africans in the loop and has apologised for the rolling power cuts.