Power cuts rippled across South Africa on Thursday, blacking out parts of major cities and spurring warnings from state utility Eskom that unexpected shortages could extend into next week.
The cuts, which Eskom attributed to power-station maintenance and the shutdown of one unit at the country’s only nuclear power plant, caused power failures stretching from Cape Town to Johannesburg.
South Africa’s power woes have raised political temperatures in the past, with critics accusing the government of failing to address the energy crunch plaguing Africa’s biggest economy as it gears up to host the Soccer World Cup in 2010.
Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin was “confident that South Africa as a whole will not be plunged into darkness”, said a statement from his office.
Eskom spokesperson Fani Zulu said the company would try to ensure that a 2Â 000MW shortage would not take a heavy toll on homes and appealed to the public to switch off non-essential electrical equipment.
“The situation is critical. We expect about two hours of shortages a day. We will tap reserve resources. Hopefully we will resolve the problem early next week,” he said.
One unit was shut down in the Koeberg plant outside Cape Town — Africa’s only nuclear power station — which has been beset by blackouts. Zulu said 900MW of the facility’s 1Â 800 had been cut. It supplies 50 % of the electricity in the Western Cape, South Africa’s tourist hub.
Eskom’s managing director for transmission, Jacob Maroga, said earlier in a statement carried on the Sapa news agency that the shortage would amount to 4Â 600MW out of a total national capacity of about 36Â 000.
Switch off air conditioners
Calls for residents to decrease power usage have been broadcast on radio stations, while several areas of Johannesburg and other cities reported that power cuts had begun.
“Residents whose areas still have power are requested to switch off their geysers, swimming pool pumps, air conditioners and all other equipment that uses electricity,” said the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in Port Elizabeth in a statement.
At the court building in the town of Krugersdorp outside Johannesburg, lights went out in underground holding cells, delaying prisoners from being brought to trial. Power cuts were also reported in several neighbourhoods in Cape Town.
South Africa’s Impala Platinum Holdings, the world’s second biggest platinum producer, said power cuts would probably lead it to lose at least a half day of output at its Rustenburg operation.
“We can probably pick that up over the course of the next weeks and months. It’s not serious, unless it carries on for a week, then it will impact production,” Bob Gilmour, investor relations manager, told Reuters.
The world’s third largest gold producer, AngloGold Ashanti, said it was cutting its heavy power usage but had not yet seen any direct impact from the power cuts.
South Africa is one of many countries on the continent suffering from power deficits that business leaders say could keep foreign investors away.
Eskom has been under pressure to repair ageing infrastructure as a booming economy fuels demand for energy.
‘Adverse consequences’
Meanwhile, the South African Chamber of Business (Sacob) said on Thursday that power failures have a serious disruptive effect on all business activity.
“Such disruption clearly has adverse consequences for domestic business confidence. Just as damaging is the adverse image portrayed to foreign investors,” Sacob President Deidré Penfold said in a statement.
“Sacob trusts that the problem will be resolved with utmost urgency and that the business community will be kept timeously informed of planned [cuts]. Where practical that information will be transmitted to members through the national chamber network,” she said.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) said the electricity cuts that Free State towns will have to endure this week could have a huge impact on local economies.
“Businesses and farmers are dependent on Eskom to supply them with electricity,” said Free State DA leader Roy Jankielsohn.
Erwin said on Thursday he was happy that a competent team had been put together to find out the cause of Thursday’s power cuts.
Erwin had been notified about the tripped turbine at the Koeberg power station when it occurred in the early hours of the morning.