FACTBOX-South Africa power generation plans

Jan 23 (Reuters) - South Africa's state-owned utility Eskom [ESCJ.UL] said on Friday that power supply had improved compared with a year ago, when a near-collapse of the power grid forced mines to close. To see a story, please click on [ID:nLN93417]

Below are details of Eskom's generating capacity.

CAPACITY AND SHORTFALL

* Eskom has a total operational capacity of just over 39,500 megawatts (MW). It will add close to 1,000 MW by returning mothballed stations to service by the middle of 2009.

* It operates 11 coal-fired stations and Africa's only nuclear-powered plant along with other smaller stations.

* Eskom, established in 1923, generates 95 percent of South Africa's electricity and 45 percent of Africa's electricity.

* In January 2008, the utility said it was unable to supply power to the country's mines sparking a major energy crisis.

* Eskom plans to invest 343 billion rand ($34.03 billion) in new power plants over five years. It plans to spend 1.3 trillion rand by 2025 to double generating capacity to 80,000 MW.