No image available
/ 30 January 2008
South African mining companies were set to resume production this week after power failures brought the industry to a halt last Friday. Anglogold Ashanti said it expected all its mines would be in full production by the end of the week. Gold Fields spokesperson Willie Jacobsz said: ”All our mines are busy mobilising as the power flow is being restored.”
No image available
/ 28 January 2008
Eskom’s monopoly was the main cause of South Africa’s electricity problems and the solution lay in independent power producers (IPP), the DA said on Monday. While provision was made for IPPs to generate up to 30% of South Africa’s total electricity output, it had to be sold to Eskom and not to other users, party MP Hendrik Schmidt told journalists.
No image available
/ 25 January 2008
Switch off your lights is what the government is urging South Africans to do to immediately address what it calls a ”national electricity emergency”. On Friday, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin and Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica outlined several plans to alleviate the country’s electricity shortage.
No image available
/ 24 January 2008
Water restrictions could be next in line for Free State businesses and residents if scheduled power cuts increase, Bloemfontein businessmen heard on Thursday. Chief executive of BloemWater, Nolene Morris, said the water supplier was completely dependent on Eskom or Centlec, the local bulk electricity supplier.
No image available
/ 23 January 2008
South African business leaders on Wednesday met the management of Eskom to thrash out ways to cope with an electricity crisis that has caused chaos in factories and offices. Businesses have lost hundreds of millions of rands since South Africa began being hit by rolling power cuts, lasting for up to four hours, about three weeks ago.
No image available
/ 23 January 2008
Psst! Heard the one about Eskom? Spare a thought for the electricity supplier. Anyone with access to email in South Africa over the past few weeks has probably received at least a few of the slew of Eskom-related jokes doing the rounds. But what happens if you actually work at Eskom?
No image available
/ 22 January 2008
South Africa’s neighbours are feeling the pinch of Eskom’s problems as they are plunged into darkness and face power failures of their own. Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe have all reported power failures and their governments have had to move quickly to clarify the reliability of future power supplies.
No image available
/ 22 January 2008
An operational plan to deal with congestion at many road intersections resulting from power cuts has been devised, Johannesburg metro police said on Monday. ”The plan involves deploying officers at the off-ramps along the freeways,” said spokesperson Superintendent Wayne Minnaar.
No image available
/ 21 January 2008
South Africa was set on Monday to ration electricity in a bid to stem a spiralling crisis that has dealt a severe blow to its status as the continent’s economic powerhouse. After mounting anger over daily power cuts that have cost business hundreds of millions of rands, the government said it was drawing up plans that could see consumers fined if they exceed set quotas.
No image available
/ 20 January 2008
Nationwide power failures shut down basic services across Zambia and Zimbabwe for hours on Saturday and Sunday as anger mounted in South Africa over power cuts that have wreaked havoc in the continent’s economic hub. There was no immediate explanation for Saturday night’s blackout.
No image available
/ 20 January 2008
President Thabo Mbeki is to meet the management of electricity utility Eskom to ascertain the depth of the current power-supply crisis and the company’s remedial plans, the Presidency said on Saturday. Mbeki will table the matter before the forthcoming Cabinet lekgotla (meeting) that begins in Pretoria on Tuesday.
No image available
/ 18 January 2008
Eskom must provide answers about the ongoing electricity crisis, the South African Human Rights Commission said on Friday. In a statement, the SAHRC said it and the Public Protector could soon work together in an investigation to establish why Eskom had instituted power cuts to the extent that it has.
No image available
/ 17 January 2008
Outrage over the country’s ongoing power cuts spread among business, agricultural and political sectors on Thursday as Eskom announced that the risk for continued cuts over the weekend remained high. ”Load shedding will continue today [Thursday] until after evening peak and the possibility of load shedding remains high,” said Eskom.
No image available
/ 17 January 2008
Power cuts are set to continue on Thursday, the Tshwane municipality said. ”Once again, load-shedding is due to Eskom generation constraints,” said municipal spokesperson Console Tleane. He said there was a slim chance that load-shedding would not be as ”intense” on Friday.
No image available
/ 16 January 2008
The Public Protector is considering investigating Eskom’s power failures, which have recently left many parts of South Africa without electricity for hours at a time due to load-shedding. Lawrence Mushwana asks several difficult questions in a letter sent to Eskom chief executive Jacob Maroga on Wednesday.
No image available
/ 14 January 2008
Eskom has asked two international nuclear giants to submit bids to build South Africa’s next nuclear power station, a media report said on Monday. The new plant, twice as powerful as Koeberg, would be the first of five or six more nuclear plants that Eskom is planning to help solve the country’s energy shortage.
No image available
/ 10 January 2008
Load shedding resumed nationally on Thursday morning due to technical problems at power stations, said Eskom. ”Load shedding will continue throughout the day and the risk remains high for the rest of the week, but should ease at the weekend,” said the company in a statement.
Routine maintenance at Koeberg Power station was ”a necessary evil” at a time when reserve supplies were low and the risk of load shedding high, Eskom said on Tuesday. ”For five to seven years the reserve margin is going to be low. It’s an agonising decision sometimes, but we have to take a long-term view,” said Eskom spokesperson Andrew Etzinger.
No image available
/ 25 November 2007
Mozambique will finally take control this week of the biggest dam in sub-Saharan Africa, which had remained in Portuguese hands for more than three decades after the former colonial power’s departure. ”We are finally going to be able to use the dam to satisfy the energy needs of our country,” said President Armando Guebuza.
No image available
/ 21 November 2007
In the run-up to the World Cup preliminary draw in Durban on Sunday, fresh questions are being raised over South Africa’s preparedness to host the world’s second-largest sporting event in 932 days. Once again the spotlight is on the 10 World Cup stadiums after strikes by thousands of workers.
No image available
/ 17 November 2007
Stormy weather wrought havoc at OR Tambo International airport on Friday, delaying flights and inconveniencing passengers, the Airports Company of South Africa said on Saturday. The storm also knocked out electricity out in several areas of Johannesburg.
No image available
/ 15 November 2007
The City of Cape Town says it has asked for a top-level meeting with Eskom over power cuts and their threat to new investments. The request comes in the wake of an announcement by the utility that South Africa faces another five to seven years of electricity failures. Load shedding was to continue around the country on Thursday evening, Eskom said.
No image available
/ 15 November 2007
Picture it: Johannesburg, 2010. It’s the final of the World Cup, and Bafana Bafana are playing England. Soccer City is brightly lit.
No image available
/ 14 November 2007
Load shedding was stopped temporarily on Wednesday afternoon but was likely to restart towards evening, said Eskom. A number of Eskom’s power station units were still on unplanned outages and were having equipment repaired. An Eskom spokesperson said load shedding could continue for the next five to seven years. ”Demand and supply are very tight.”
No image available
/ 14 November 2007
Hitachi and Alstom have been awarded the R20-billion boiler and the R13-billion turbine contracts respectively for Eskom’s Medupi power station at Lephalale in the Limpopo Province. ”Medupi will be the biggest dry-cooled power station in the world,” said Brian Dames, managing director of Eskom’s Enterprises Division.
No image available
/ 10 November 2007
Eskom is looking at the possibility of increasing electricity tariffs by 18%, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) news reported on Friday. Eskom said the cost of building power stations — at R1,13-trillion over the next 20 years — and the rise in coal prices are to blame for the possible increase.
No image available
/ 1 November 2007
A <i>Mail & Guardian Online</i> reader, Simon van Gend from Cape Town, ran into trouble with his geyser last week after he followed national electricity supplier Eskom’s advice to switch his geyser off each day, to help save electricity and prevent load shedding. But is Eskom really at fault?
No image available
/ 28 October 2007
As South Africa’s economic growth slows and inflation heats up, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel will present a medium-term budget on Tuesday with decidedly less to smile about than six months ago. While analysts expect Manuel to be more cautious in his revenue predictions, they believe past prudence has left him with enough room for manoeuvre.
No image available
/ 19 October 2007
Eskom has issued a warning that there will be a high probability of load shedding Friday morning. This was due to a shortage of generating capacity Eskom was experiencing at present, the parastatal said. However, the situation was expected to improve by midday.
No image available
/ 18 October 2007
Earlier this year, Cape Town was debating a by-law that would make solar water heating compulsory for relatively costly new buildings, and certain renovations. But what of solar water heating for less expensive structures — especially homes being built under the country’s extensive low-cost housing programme?
No image available
/ 17 October 2007
The cost of broadband internet access is set to drop significantly with the adoption in the National Assembly on Wednesday of the Broadband Infraco Bill. The Bill provides mainly for transferring Broadband Infraco to the state from Eskom Holdings. Broadband costs in South Africa are considerably higher than the country’s international counterparts.
No image available
/ 16 October 2007
Legislation paving the way for much cheaper broadband internet access is likely to be approved in the National Assembly on Wednesday. According to a memorandum attached to the Broadband Infraco Bill, the high broadband costs in South Africa compared to international counterparts have been investigated.