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Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) (Afrikaans: Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie (EVKOM)). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the largest producer of electricity in Africa,[2][3] and was among the top utilities in the world in terms of generation capacity and sales. It is the largest of South Africa's state owned enterprises. Eskom operates a number of notable power stations, including Matimba Power Station and Medupi Power Station in Lephalale, Kusile Power Station in Witbank, Kendal Power Station, and Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in the Western Cape Province, the only nuclear power plant in Africa.
The company is divided into Generation, Transmission and Distribution divisions, and together Eskom generates approximately 95% of electricity used in South Africa, amounting to ~45% used in Africa,[4] and emits 42% of South Africa's total greenhouse gas emissions.[5][6][7][8] By releasing 1.6 million tons of sulphur dioxide into the air in 2019, Eskom is also the largest emitter of sulphur dioxide in the power industry in the world.[9] Eskom has periodically implemented rolling blackouts since January 2008, a practice ascribed to basic dereliction of duty by former president Thabo Mbeki.[10] Implementation of new generating capacity during this period was fraught with delays and cost overruns which brought the utility to the brink of bankruptcy.[11] In 2019, it was announced that Eskom was to be split up into three distinct nationally owned entities due to huge debts and poor reliability of supply.[12]
At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, a deal was announced for developed countries to fund South Africa's transition from coal power to renewable energy. However, employment in the mining sector threatens this transition.[13]
- ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference
:168was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Sanchez, Dana (28 October 2014). "Which Countries Produce And Consume Most Electricity in Africa?". Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- ^ "Electricity - production - Country Comparison - TOP 100". indexmundi.com.
- ^ "Company information overview". eskom.co.za. 14 January 2021.
- ^ "Eskom, Sasol Emit Over Half of South Africa's Greenhouse Gas". news.bloombergenvironment.com. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ "Eskom and Sasol fingered over 'world's second-worst sulphur dioxide hot-spot'". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ McKay, David (19 August 2019). "Greenpeace blames Eskom, Sasol for world sulphur hot-spot in SA's Mpumalanga province". Miningmx. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ Bloomberg. "South Africa is second-largest hotspot of sulfur dioxide emissions". businesstech.co.za. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ "A South African company emits more sulfur dioxide than anyone in the power sector". 7 October 2021.
- ^ "Thabo Mbeki's explosive allegations about Eskom and load-shedding". Energy. dailyinvestor.com. Daily Investor. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "No power from Kusile after R233 billion and 15 years of construction". Energy. dailyinvestor.com. Daily Investor. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ Paton, Carol (7 February 2019). "Eskom to be split into three SOEs, Cyril Ramaphosa confirms in Sona". businesslive.co.za. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- ^ McKenzie, David; Balkiz, Ghazi (2 November 2021). "US, UK and EU will help fund South Africa's coal phaseout, offering a model for the developing world". CNN. Retrieved 5 November 2021.