South Africa to run coal-fired power plants longer

• 10 hours ago (2026-05-29)
• David Flin

Africa 366 Coal 363 Gas 469

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South Africa will delay the retirement of about a fifth of its coal-fired power generation capacity as gas projects intended to replace them are running behind schedule.

South Africa relies on coal to generate about 80 per cent of its electricity, and had planned to shut 8 GW of coal-fired capacity by 2030, replacing it with 6 GW of gas-fired capacity. However, the replacement plants are running significantly behind schedule. Bheki Nxumalo, Head of Generation at Eskom , said that a wait of around five years for gas turbines from major suppliers was standard. He said: “Unless the order is in, the backlog is just too high. It must be noted that the replacement plan hinges on all projects materialising on time.”

As a result, Eskom is planning a second life extension of coal-fired plants since 2024, when some stations were kept open to ensure supply while the company struggled to end the endemic blackouts that plagued the country.