ACCORDING TO media reports, parastatal energy utility Eskom is considering investing in an aluminium smelter proposed for the Coega Industrial Development Zone outside Port Elizabeth. Speaking at the Gordon Institute for Business Science, Eskom finance director Willem Kok said Eskom would be keen to see an investment in a new smelter at Coega, as this would establish an important new electricity consumer for the utility. It has already been decided by government and Eskom that the supply of electricity to Coega would be upgraded so that an energy-hungry project of this scale could be accommodated. Potential investors in an aluminium smelter include BHP Billiton and Pechiney of France. BHP Billiton has said it would not take a decision for some time, but Pechiney is expected to decide this year whether to locate its next state-of-the-art R16-billion smelter at Coega, or Australia. The company is conducting environmental impact assessments for the Coega IDZ. Kok said that, while no decision had been taken, in principle Eskom would consider becoming part of an investment consortium in a new smelter at Coega “depending on the risks and the returns”. In another report, Eskom spokesperson Clarence Kwinana said the utility could offer the proposed new aluminium smelter at Coega cheap electricity, and confirmed that Eskom was targeting foreign investors to take up the special deal. “The focus is specifically on energy-intensive industries that use large amounts of electricity because of their specific electrical processes. Eskom still has surplus generating capacity available until 2007, and boasts the lowest electricity price in the world,” he said. Kwinana said discussions had been held with prospective investors and it became clear that the transmission infrastructure to the Eastern Cape needed to be strengthened in order to accommodate the substantial growth in demand that was expected for the proposed aluminium smelter project at Coega. “The extent of the growth that is foreseen is of such magnitude that it will more than double the current load on the system in the Port Elizabeth area. The investment in electricity infrastructure alone will exceed R2 billion,” he said.