Eskom is a South African electricity public utility, established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) and also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie (EVKOM), by the South African Government and people of the Republic of South Africa in terms of the Electricity Act (1922). South Africa became a Republic in the 1960s. Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the largest producer of electricity in Africa, and was among the top utilities in the world in terms of generation capacity and sales, but has since slipped in both categories. It is the largest of South Africa's state owned enterprises. Eskom operates a number of notable power stations, including Matimba Power Station and Medupi Power Station in Lephalale, Kusile Power Station in Witbank, Kendal Power Station, and Koeberg nuclear power station in the Western Cape Province, the only nuclear power plant in Africa. The company is divided into Generation, Transmission and Distribution divisions and together Eskom generates approximately 95% of electricity used in South Africa, amounting to ~45% used in Africa, and emits 42% of South Africa's total greenhouse gas emissions.
Lethabo Power Station in the Free State, South Africa, is a large coal fired power station owned and operated by Eskom.
Kendal Power Station is a coal-fired power station in Mpumalanga, South Africa. It is sited in a coal-mining area; one of its sources is AEMFC's coal mine at Vlakfontein, near Ogies.
Duvha Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom. The 300 metres (980 ft) tall chimneys at Duvha are the second and third tallest structures in Africa, only a chimney located at the Secunda CTL plant is taller.
Hendrina Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is one of South Africa's oldest operating power stations.
Grootvlei Power Station in Grootvlei, Mpumalanga, South Africa.
The mineral industry of Mozambique plays a significant role in the world's production of aluminium, beryllium, and tantalum. In 2006, Mozambique's share of the world's tantalum mine output amounted to 6%; beryllium, 5%; and aluminium, 2%. Other domestically significant mineral processing operations included cement and natural gas.
The Ingula Pumped Storage Scheme is a pumped-storage power station in the escarpment of the Little Drakensberg range straddling the border of the KwaZulu-Natal and Free State provinces, South Africa. It is about 22 km (14 mi) North-East of Van Reenen.
Medupi Power Station is a dry-cooled coal-fired power station built by Eskom near Lephalale in Limpopo province, South Africa. The name chosen for the station, Medupi, is a Sepedi word which means "gentle rain". With an installed capacity of 4,764 MW, when fully operational it should be the 8th largest coal-fired power station in the world.
Camden Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom.
Komati Power Station, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom. Its 300 metre tall chimney was built in 1979, and is one of the tallest structures in the country. Komati is one of power stations with a common steam range, meaning that its nine boilers jointly feed the nine generators. Other stations are Tutuka Power Station and Matimba Power Station.
Kriel Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom. It is located about 4 km from Matla Power Station just outside the town of Kriel.
Majuba Power Station between Volksrust and Amersfoort in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom. Majuba is Eskom's only power station that is not linked to a specific mine and it receives its coal from various sources.
Matimba Power Station close to Ellisras, Limpopo Province, South Africa, is a dry-cooled coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom.
Tutuka Power Station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom.
Colenso Power Station was a coal-fired power station, located in Colenso on the banks of the Tugela River. It was built in the 1920s by the South African Railways to supply electricity for the railways, and was subsequently sold to the Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom).
South Africa has a large energy sector, being the second-largest economy in Africa. The country consumed 227 TWh of electricity in 2018. The vast majority of South Africa's electricity was produced from coal, with the fuel responsible for 88% of production in 2017. South Africa is the 7th largest coal producer in the world. As of July 2018, South Africa had a coal power generation capacity of 39 gigawatts (GW). South Africa is the world's 14th largest emitter of greenhouse gases. South Africa is planning to shift away from coal in the electricity sector. The country aims to decommission 34 GW of coal-fired power capacity by 2050. It also aims to build at least 20 GW of renewable power generation capacity by 2030.
Solar power in South Africa includes photovoltaics (PV) as well as concentrated solar power (CSP). In 2016, South Africa had 1,329 MW of installed solar power capacity. Installed capacity is expected to reach 8,400 MW by 2030.
The South African Energy Crisis is an ongoing period when South Africa experiences widespread rolling blackouts as supply falls behind demand, threatening to destabilize the national grid. It began in the later months of 2007 and continues to this day. The government-owned national power utility and primary power generator, Eskom, and various parliamentarians attributed these rolling-blackouts to insufficient generation capacity. With a reserve margin estimated at 8% or below, such "load shedding" is implemented whenever generating units are taken offline for maintenance, repairs or re-fueling. According to Eskom and government officials, the solution requires the construction of additional power stations and generators.
