State Coal Miner Seen Preventing Eskom’s Fuel Shortage
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An increase in coal production by South Africa’s state-owned mining company may help Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. avoid a repeat of rolling power blackouts, a government official said.
Eskom, which produces 95 percent of the nation’s electricity, cut supply for the first time in six years on March 6 after rains disrupted supplies of coal. Three units went down at its Kendal power plant, which buys coal from BHP Billiton Ltd.’s Khutala mine. Companies earn more by exporting the fuel than supplying it to the state-owned utility.