Short-term solutions to energy challenges lie with private sector, incentives

It will take about three years to improve the energy availability factor of State-owned power utility Eskom’s coal-fired power stations to an acceptable level of about 65%, as generator units must be taken offline to do deep maintenance. This means Eskom’s energy availability will drop further before it can be improved, said energy expert Chris Yelland on May 9 at the Africa Automation Technology Fair.