There is an expectation that the running cost for diesel-fed turbines will be used to keep the lights on when coal-powered plants break down. This is to keep up with the maintenance.
Eskom notices that a third of its coal-fired capacity is unavailable. This was mentioned last week in a presentation to the National Economic Development and gas turbines and Labour Council. Which will require them to spend R20.9- billion on fueling? They have forecast that the debt will rise to 416 billion rands by the end of this month. This has been said- “The utility, which supplies almost all of South Africa’s power from coal-fired plants, has subjected the country to intermittent power outages for more than a decade because it can’t meet demand.” The outages rise to record last year and badly maintained plants that broke down.
The system strained dynamic and thus is the best sign Eskom had. It also did not mention what fuel prices it used. An estimated 12,000 and 13,000 megawatts would be unavailable at any time because of the breakdowns and missing capacity that would be needed to replace the turbines.
Then 25 days of power cuts should be expected as this would struggle to replenish diesel supplies fast enough. There will be a financial limitation in paying for the fuel. Expenses could rise to R35.9-billion and 36 days of power cuts. When coal-fired plants are not producing enough electricity the turbans usually run at peak demands.
Eskom’s performance in the current financial year of the power cuts has been conservative.
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