South Africa's power utility Eskom plans to build up its coal stockpiles to 40 days in the third quarter of this year as it aims to boost reserves ahead of the rainy season.

State owned Eskom, which uses mainly coal fired plants to generate about 90% of the electricity in Africa's largest economy, has to rebuild its stock levels which fell slightly after miners in the sector went on a one-week strike in July.

Mr Brian Dames said that "We are projecting to build to 40 days (from 36 days) in the third quarter. Because of the strike ... we will buy an additional 5 million tonnes this year to ensure we maintain our coal stocks.”

He said that Eskom managed to keep the lights on during a tough winter in the world's top platinum producer and a major supplier of gold, thanks to lower than expected demand and initiatives put in place to manage supply, but risks to the system remain.

Mr Dames said that "We are managing a tight power system. We are on alert and will be for the next five and especially two years, while we build new capacity.”

South Africa is about to enter its rainy summer period which runs from around October to March, when it also conducts much of the maintenance on its plants

(Sourced from Reuters)