Power cuts for another seven years

JOHANNESBURG – Power outages will continue to plague South Africa for up to seven years while the continent’s largest economy seeks new methods of generation, electricity giant Eskom said on Thursday.

“We are currently experiencing a shortage in generation capacity and this may remain with us for five to seven years and that is why load-shedding (power cuts) are inevitable for that period until we improve on our capacity,” Eskom spokeswoman Ra’eesah Waja told AFP. She said the state power agency was not currently able to meet public demand for electricity due to South Africa’s economic growth spurt since the end of apartheid.”Eskom had excess generation capacity in the past, before 1994, but due to a rapid growth in the economy since that time, we have exhausted our generation capacity and reserve and we currently cannot meet public demand.”South Africa, which accounts for 38 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s total gross domestic product, is the largest exporter of electricity on the continent, supplying most of its neighbours with power.Eskom, whose operations have also been hampered by aging infrastructure, has seen its generation capacity decrease from 42 000 megawatts to 38 000 megawatts and its power reserve has plummeted from 15 per cent to between eight and ten per cent, Waja said.The agency is embarking on a huge 150 billion rand expansion programme to upgrade its systems and build more power plants by 2015, she said.Forced to ration power supplies, resulting in outages in parts of the country to avoid a total blackout, Eskom has launched a media blitz to persuade the public to conserve power.Nampa-AFPShe said the state power agency was not currently able to meet public demand for electricity due to South Africa’s economic growth spurt since the end of apartheid.”Eskom had excess generation capacity in the past, before 1994, but due to a rapid growth in the economy since that time, we have exhausted our generation capacity and reserve and we currently cannot meet public demand.”South Africa, which accounts for 38 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s total gross domestic product, is the largest exporter of electricity on the continent, supplying most of its neighbours with power.Eskom, whose operations have also been hampered by aging infrastructure, has seen its generation capacity decrease from 42 000 megawatts to 38 000 megawatts and its power reserve has plummeted from 15 per cent to between eight and ten per cent, Waja said.The agency is embarking on a huge 150 billion rand expansion programme to upgrade its systems and build more power plants by 2015, she said.Forced to ration power supplies, resulting in outages in parts of the country to avoid a total blackout, Eskom has launched a media blitz to persuade the public to conserve power.Nampa-AFP