South African Coal Plant Closure Delayed Amid Energy Crisis
South Africa's public power utility, Eskom, has announced a delay in the closure of several coal-fired power plants, citing the ongoing electricity crisis as the primary reason. The Eskom board has approved the continued operation of the Camden, Grootvlei, and Hendrina power stations until 2030, local media outlet Engineering News reported on Monday, May 20.
Originally, these power stations were scheduled to be retired between 2023 and 2027. However, South Africa experienced one of its worst electricity crises last year, with daily power cuts lasting up to ten hours. These outages severely impacted the country’s economy, which is Africa's most developed. The decision to keep these plants operational is a direct response to the urgent need to stabilize the national grid.
“The electri...