Photo by: Bloomberg
South Africa's electricity generation dropped by 10% between 2010 and 2013, but sales income increased fourfold to R150.2-billion, Statistics SA Statistician General Pali Lehohla said on Monday.
Of that, 91% of the country's electricity was still produced using coal, raising concerns over the potential effect of the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM) current pay strike. Thereafter 5% was generated via nuclear facilities, gas and diesel (2%), pump storage (1%) and hydro (0.5%).
Lehohla said 38% of the country's electricity was sold to redistributors (municipalities), while sales to households accounted for 10%, mining 13%, industrial 17% and commercial 10%. Total sales for gas were R9-billion, an 8.8% annual increase. Natural gas made up the bulk gas sales rising to R7.1-billion or 78%, compared with only R3.5-billion or 59.4% in 2010.
In a report on the electricity, gas and water supply industry, StatsSA said the collection, purification and distribution of water accounted for R22.1-billion of the total R181.2-billion income.
This was a 19.1% annual increase, compared with only R107.2-billion in 2010.