EWN reports that Eskom is planning to meet with trade unions this week to discuss the planned phasing out of five coal power stations in Mpumalanga.  

The power utility will be phasing out the Grootvlei, Kriel, Camden, Hendrina and Komati power stations in Mpumalanga over the next five years, which spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said was necessary to accommodate independent renewable power producers.  Unions are up in arms, claiming that they were not consulted over the move.  Some of the coal power stations employ up to 1,000 people, but Phasiwe said they would “make sure we mitigate against thousands of job losses.”

• A short report by Ilze-Marie Le Roux is at EWN

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