South Africa's energy supply
State company Eskom is among the lowest-cost electricity suppliers in the world. It ranks in the top 10 internationally for size and sales, supplying around 95% of South Africa's energy requirements and two-thirds of Africa's.
Eskom's network is made up of more than 300 000 kilometres of power lines, 27 000 kilometres of which constitute South Africa's national transmission grid. The main generating stations are located in Mpumalanga province, where there are vast coal reserves.
To meet South Africa's growing energy demands, Eskom is expected to spend R48-billion between 2005 and 2010 on building new capacity, with the private sector expected to invest a further R23-billion.
Eskom will be involved in 70% of new energy production projects in the country, with independent producers being involved in the remainder.
In August 2005, five consortia qualified to bid for the right to build, own and operate two new power stations in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The plants are expected to cost R6-billion to build and to be fully operational by the end of 2008.
The introduction of independent power producers is aimed at bringing competition to Eskom, and at further reducing the cost of South Africa's electricity.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
