17 February 2005

State power company Eskom has announced plans to re-open three power stations in Mpumalanga, injecting over R4-billion in the provincial economy and creating up to 26 000 new jobs.

The three power stations, at Camden near Ermelo, Grootvlei near Balfour and Komati near Middelburg, were shut down in the late 1980s and 1990s because Eskom was generating more electricity than needed.

"These stations were closed down in such a way that they could still be re-opened", Eskom spokesperson Fani Zulu said on Wednesday. "There are also plans to build new power stations in the country", he added.

The Camden power station is expected to start operating by June, while the other two stations will reopen in 2008.

Eskom has also budgeted R1.5-billion to build a new railway line for the heavy coal trucks that supply its power stations in Mpumalanga.

The line will ease pressure on a 100km stretch of the N11 between Ermelo and Eskom's Majuba Power Station near Amersfoort, which costs about R12-million a year to repair. The project will be completed in 2008.

Source: BuaNews

	South Africa is one of the cheapest electricity producers in the world

	SA to invest billions in upgrade Nuclear energy in South Africa South Africa's energy supply Infrastructure State-owned enterprises South Africa's energy industry

	Eskom  Dept of Minerals & Energy