Eskom's safety margin has been restored

Another milestone has been achieved.

Following the end of rolling blackouts almost four months ago, Eskom achieved another significant milestone this week.

The safety margin has been sustained and restored for a week. The utility requires about 10-15% of capacity in excess of demand as "fat in the system." This margin (the distance between the supply and demand curve) is necessary to cover potential unit trips or to quickly dispatch energy in response rapid fluctuations on the system..

With this margin restored, Eskom can now plan for the next phase which is starting an overhaul of certain units. To truly repair the broken coal fleet, units must be taken offline, as was the case with Koeberg for almost a year.

I still believe that South Africa should consider investing in coal for another 20 years. This will provide sufficient reliability as the country works to integrate other energy sources such as wind, solar, and nuclear power.

Coal, whether we like it or not, remains the backbone of a reliable electricity supply.