A new online commodities trading platform will be launched during the first quarter of 2020, potentially heralding a new era of transparency in the pricing and procurement of domestic coal, the rising cost of which has become a major source of concern for both Eskom and government. Coal remains the dominant primary-energy source for the production of electricity in South Africa and even with high allocations for renewable energy in the latest Integrated Resource Plan, IRP2019, as well as the prospect of coal-plant decommissioning over the coming ten years, coal is still expected to contribute 59% of South Africa’s energy volumes by 2030.
