{
  "id": 5226373,
  "title": "Ramokgopa warns SA’s energy future will continue to depend heavily on coal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/03/ramokgopa-warns-sas-energy-future-will-continue-to-depend-heavily-on",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-03T02:39:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/news/ramokgopa-warns-sas-energy-future-will-continue-to-depend-heavily-on-coal/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "South African Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa warned that the country's energy future will continue to heavily depend on coal, despite Eskom's efforts to repurpose ageing coal-fired power stations for renewable energy generation. Ramokgopa visited the Eskom Research, Testing and Development Centre in Germiston to explore technologies aimed at reducing harmful emissions from existing coal operations. He emphasized that the primary issue is emissions, not coal shortage, and highlighted the progress in clean-coal technologies, green hydrogen, and advanced energy systems. Eskom's financial performance, including a R30.3 billion profit after tax and improved Energy Availability Factor (EAF) of 67.87%, provides a stronger platform for long-term investment in modernising the electricity system and adopting new technologies.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}