State-owned South African power utility Eskom has announced that it will not schedule any blackouts this year, after rumours that its financial problems would mean a shortage of coal. In fact, chief executive Phakamani Hadebe has stated that six of Eskom’s fleet of coal-fired power plants have less the required coal supplies, but that this was an improved situation to earlier in the year, when seven plants faced shortages. Mr Hadebe is confident the situation will improve further, and although coal is used to produce most of Eskom’s energy, he has said “I can tell you without any shadow of doubt that we are safe.” As Reuters reports, a new board of directors was appointed for Eskom in January after the company was at the heart of a corruption scandal involving the former president Jacob Zuma.