Eskom faces roads headache

JOHANNESBURG – South African utility Eskom, struggling to fix a severe power crisis, faces another headache in trucking urgently needed coal to power stations on crumbling and heavily used roads.

Eskom said it will take 900 trucks to get the 45 million tonnes of extra coal the utility needs over the next two years to exlusively feed its power stations in coal-rich Mpumalanga province, which has some of the country’s worst roads. The quality of the coal and getting it to Eskom’s coal-fed power stations, which are concentrated in Mpumalanga in north east South Africa, are among Eskom’s biggest worries in the power crisis.”Most of our additional coal will be trucked which means unfortunately road transport and that’s a big factor, with the damage on the road,” Eskom spokesman Andrew Etzinger said.Provincial roads have suffered the same fate as Eskom, experts say, in which years of underinvestment culminated in widespread supply shortages in January, shutting the mines in Africa’s largest economy and slashing coal exports.Nampa-ReutersThe quality of the coal and getting it to Eskom’s coal-fed power stations, which are concentrated in Mpumalanga in north east South Africa, are among Eskom’s biggest worries in the power crisis.”Most of our additional coal will be trucked which means unfortunately road transport and that’s a big factor, with the damage on the road,” Eskom spokesman Andrew Etzinger said.Provincial roads have suffered the same fate as Eskom, experts say, in which years of underinvestment culminated in widespread supply shortages in January, shutting the mines in Africa’s largest economy and slashing coal exports.Nampa-Reuters