As South Africa struggles to cope with a shortage of energy it could turn to Zimbabwe for assistance in solving the problem.

Eskom, Anglo Platinum and the Botswana Power Company have all shown an interest in thermal power stations in Zimbabwe and will ask to export electricity to South Africa.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) taskforce on implementation of power projects held a meeting in Botswana to discuss the state of energy supply within the region.

About $46.4 billion was needed for long-term development of the energy sector while $5 billion was needed to complete current energy projects by 2010, according to reports from allAfrica.com.

Eskom is reported to be keen to put $25 million into the Hwange Colliery Company (HCC) to ensure reliable and uninterrupted coal supplies with 50 per cent power going to South Africa.

Meanwhile, Eskom is struggling to transport coal supplies to its stations in South Africa because of the state of the nations' roads.

About 900 trucks will be needed to get the 45 million tonnes of extra coal needed by the utility during the next two years but they will have to reach the Mpumalanga province which is home to some of the worst roads in the country.

Andrew Etzinger, a spokesman for Eskom, said: "It's logistically challenging, particularly in bad weather when the roads are wet. This is not a simple exercise. It means another 900 trucks on the road in Mpumalanga which is a huge amount."

According to Malcolm Mitchell, Executive Director of the SA Road Federation, the roads are in bad condition with pot holes often taking over six months to fix.

However, while Eskom is struggling to transport coal, seven French experts have been sent to South Africa to assist with the electricity crisis.

Caroline Jansen from the French Embassy said: "The focus of their fact-finding mission is the de-mothballing of coal power plants, as well as assessing and providing the technical skills needed."

Source:

Southern Africa: Region Looks Towards Zimbabwe's Power Plants, 11/03/08
http://allafrica.com/stories/200803111081.html

Eskom faces roads headache trucking coal to plants, 11/03/08
http://www.miningweekly.co.za/article.php?a_id=128967

South Africa: French Engineers Help Ease Electricity Crisis, 11/03/08
http://allafrica.com/stories/200803110377.html

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