Business Report 15 June 2012.
PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba says coal should be classified as a strategic resource, to protect Eskom from rising prices and deteriorating quality.
Coal is an important cost driver for the state-owned utility, which could pass on its high cost to consumers. The government wants Eskom to keep tariff increases at relatively low levels…
(Editorial note: I beg to differ, Minister Gigaba: part of the motivation for building our two new big coal power stations, Medupi and Kusile, was that coal was the cheapest source of primary energy for power generation. Now we can’t turn around and say we need to subsidise the coal supply to Eskom to keep the electricity prices down!!! More fossil fuel subsidies in the offing, I fear.)
Electricity Governance Initiative - South Africa 