It’s deja vu for South Africa as a chronic power deficit plunges large tracts of the country into darkness and casts a pall over the already struggling economy.
Browsing: Energy and sustainability
Cash-strapped power utility Eskom should rely on bond markets to raise the funds it needs rather than expecting bailouts from the government, finance minister Tito Mboweni said.
Eskom expects to launch its turnaround strategy in 2019 after at least two delays of its much-anticipated recovery plan, as power cuts blanket the nation.
Eskom’s warning that the country was threatened by months of rotating blackouts became a reality in less than 24 hours.
Eskom will cut 2GW of supply from the national grid because it lost additional generating units overnight.
Eskom is locked into a permanent loss situation and revenue is structurally limited. Expenses have ballooned due to inefficiencies, and electricity tariffs are not cost-reflective.
Eskom on Thursday introduced stage-one rotational load shedding, saying it would be in effect from midday to 10pm.
Eskom’s first-half profit plunged 89% and the situation at the South African state-owned power utility is likely to worsen in the next six months, chairman Jabu Mabuza said on Wednesday.
The finances of Eskom, Transnet and other companies owned by South Africa’s government have deteriorated to such an extent that they now pose a significant risk to the nation’s finances, the auditor-general said.
Struggling power utility Eskom has extended its load shedding regime from four stages that allow up to 4GW of demand to be shed, or cut, to eight stages providing for up to 8GW to be shed.