A legal wrangle over a power supply contract worth an estimated R218-billion could derail the South African government’s attempts to ease electricity shortages.
Browsing: Eskom
There is a heightened risk of load shedding during the evening peak of 5pm to 10pm throughout the coming winter, Eskom warned on Tuesday.
Eskom has implemented rolling blackouts with immediate effect. The stage-2 load shedding will last until Tuesday night, the state-owned utility said in a statement at 5pm on Sunday.
Data published by Eskom this week shows that the utility has not been able to generate enough electricity to adequately meet peak evening demand.
Eskom doesn’t want to buy electricity from the company that won most of a government emergency power tender because it’s concerned about the cost and length of the contract, sources said.
Eskom said on Wednesday that it is unable to agree to certain union demands over wage increases and declined to make an offer on basic salary until labour groups respond.
Eskom issued a start warning on Wednesday, saying it will increase “load reduction” measures in Gauteng to try to cope with threats to its distribution infrastructure from criminals.
South Africa plans to lift the licensing threshold for small-scale power generation projects to 10MW from 1MW, a boost to firms anxious to curb their reliance on the ailing Eskom, but industry experts had hoped for more.
South African prosecutors are seeking the extradition of a British national who’s been implicated in a fraudulent deal with Eskom.
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