This is a guest article by Jeremy Wakeford. Jeremy is an economist specializing in energy and sustainable development and is Research Director of ASPO South Africa.

South Africa has been in the news a lot recently because of its electricity supply problems throughout 2008. Most South African electricity comes from coal-fired power stations. Jeremy discusses the role of coal in South Africa's energy mix, long-term trends in production and consumption, and how underground coal gasification might help solve South Africa's energy problems.