Eskom might not be permanently closing five of its coal-fired power stations after all. This follows an interview with Reuters at the World Economic Forum, which was recently held in Durban, when the power utility’s chairperson Ben Ngubane said these plans were not set in stone.

In March the power utility announced plans to close some of its power stations in an effort to move towards greener solutions, including wind and solar projects, as well as new nuclear.

However Ngubane said that if the utility put in a certain amount of independent power producers (IPPs), then the capacity for these power stations will be reduced. “That would result in mothballing,” he said. However he added that this was a “scenario”.

He said that if the pace of adding IPP projects to the grid did not take place as quickly as expected, or if economic growth picked up, then the power plants would not be shut down.

There has been a lot of uncertainty surrounding the rollout of IPPs, which mostly involve renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Earlier this year, President Jacob Zuma said all outstanding IPP agreements would be signed by Eskom, however that remains to be seen.

According to Reuters, industry experts said Eskom slowed the pace of agreeing to new renewable energy contracts after power supply in South Africa stabilised last year. Two years ago there were severe electricity shortages that led to frequent load shedding.

Last week energy minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said power shortages could possibly return in three to four years.

However Ngubane said this can be averted provided Eskom sticks to maintenance projects on its ageing power plants.

“If we carry on with the maintenance plans then there should not be any danger of load shedding,” he said. “But if we neglect maintenance then we shall be playing with fire.”