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Monday, January 26, 2009.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon O'Donnell.

Making headlines today:

On Friday, power utility Eskom said that South Africa's electricity system was more secure now with coal stockpiles at an average of 38,7 days.

Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga said that none of its power stations now had a stockpile below 20 days, compared with a year before when stockpiles had reached a low of ten days.

He said that the coal investment came at a cost, but it has been pursued to prevent the disruptions of the scale experienced last year.

In 2008, wet coal and technical problems had seriously affected the plant performance at the utility's power stations. The utility was forced to implement load shedding and reduce its supply to large industrial customers and mines.

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China is considering including more African goods in a list of products excluded from import tariffs. China sees this as a way of further boosting trade with the continent.

China already levies no import tariffs on more than 10 types of goods imported from 31 African countries, including textiles, machinery and farm products.

China has pumped billions of dollars into Africa in recent years in search of natural resources for its booming economy. That has unnerved Western donors, who worry that it is ignoring human rights abuses.

But China says its aid comes with no strings attached and that its trade with the continent is good for economic development.

Also making headlines:

The International Monetary Fund will cut global growth forecasts even further.
Eskom again places the country on notice that it should brace for sizable tariff increases between 2009 and 2012.
Eskom moves to explain why the coal projects will now cost R211-billion.
And, steel producer Highveld's fourth-quarter production is down 18%.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories please visit engineeringnews.co.za.