NGO calls for alternative forms of energy
A local environmental NGO says the coal-mineworkers' strike should force us to have a conversation on alternative forms of energy supply in the country.
Thousands of workers downed tools on Sunday, demanding a pay hike.
Eskom says the strike will not affect power supply for at least a month.
Coal mining accounts for 94% of South Africa's energy production.
Groundwork's Bobby Peek says the country's fixation on coal might see us in a desperate situation should the month pass and wage talks fail.
He says reliance on one predominant source of energy is not ideal.
"What we do need as South Africans, desperately and urgently, is decentralised energy systems that are not specifically positioned either as nuclear or as coal but as renewable energy that can be decentralised throughout the country and will never ever have the same impact," he said.
The Energy Department has entered into agreements with various countries as part of its Nuclear Build Programme which aims to provide 9 600 megawatts of nuclear energy by 2030.
(File photo)