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90%
Percentage of South Africa's electricity production that is met by state-owned power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. Almost all of it is generated from coal, an abundant resource in the country.
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30,033 MW
Peak demand for electricity in the country.
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27,305 MW
Peak generation capacity of Eskom - well short of peak demand, leading to the latest round of rotational blackouts (aka load shedding). The current crisis is the result of a perfect storm in which rising costs, falling revenues, crumbling infrastructure, and decades of corruption and mismanagement each play a part.
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9,600 MW
Planned generation capacity of two coal fired power plants - Medupi and Kusile - that were proposed in mid-2000's. Expected to be fully operational in 2015, they are still years away from completion, with their construction beset by spiralling costs, delays and corruption scandals.
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$30 billion
Eskom's debt, on which it can barely even afford the interest payments, and thus described by government officials as "technically insolvent" and in a "death spiral". 5 reasons for this situation are:
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1
Kusile and Medupi plants are still years from completion, while their projected cost has doubled.
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2
50% rise in cost of labour over the last 10 years. Price of coal has gone up too.
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3
Non-payment by several large customers, especially poorer municipalities, leading to even more debt.
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4
Wealthier customers and businesses have been turning towards renewable sources of energy, such as solar panels, whose cost has come down.
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5
The utility has been forced to hike tariffs, which has contributed to a drop in sales.