The Democratic Alliance is to request that Minister of Public Enterprises Lynn Brown table a contingency plan to deal with possible coal shortages nationally.

This follows Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe’s comments that there is no “plan B” should coal supplies to the Hendrina Power Station be depleted‚ the party said in a statement on Sunday.

DA spokesperson on public enterprises Natasha Mazzone said she would also be submitting written questions in parliament to Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as to how he‚ and his “war room”‚ have not overseen the drafting of plans regarding coal supply interruptions to any of the country’s power stations.

“This is an issue central to South Africa’s energy supply‚ and the Deputy President’s inaction is both disturbing and telling‚” Mazzone said.

She noted that Hendrina Power Station‚ which supplies 2000 MW of power to the national grid‚ is reported to have only 40 days of coal supply left.

“Following the suspension of the agreement between Optimum Mines and Eskom‚ there is a great risk that power being supplied from this station could be interrupted. This would have disastrous consequences for our economy‚ as it would most likely increase load-shedding.

“To not have a contingency plan in place‚ when South Africa is already facing power shortages is nothing less than gross negligence. It is time for Eskom to get its act together. If there isn’t a ‘plan B’‚ they must make sure that there is one‚ and fast‚” Mazzone asserted‚ adding that the jobs and livelihoods of people were at stake.