Incandescent lamps will be exchanged for energy-saving lamps in all provinces from April onwards, Eskom said on Wednesday. The exchange programme for compact fluorescent lamps is already under way in several of the country’s provinces and has seen more than 12-million lamps distributed in three years.
Eskom may delay approval for connecting new construction projects that are bigger than a residential home to its grid for up to six months in a bid to alleviate a power crisis, it said on Wednesday. The crisis forced a shutdown of crucial mines for five days in January and since then mines have been operating with only 90% of their power.
South Africa’s advanced nuclear reactor technology programme will include United States-based Westinghouse Electric as a partner and a new shareholders’ contract is expected by the end of the month, an official said on Tuesday. South Africa is currently testing elements of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor and wants to build 24 to 30 reactors for its own energy needs.
Bedrooms (or the Oval Office, as the case may be) and boardrooms: they tend to share a characteristic — closed curtains. And when you ask the big guy whether he’s been fooling around, literally or figuratively, the answer all too often is "trust me". But once in a blue moon a reluctant witness comes forward with a stained blue dress. Does Hillary trust her man? No way.
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/ 28 February 2008
France is giving a R15,5-billion (â,¬1,4-billion) coal-fired power station to South Africa as a gesture of friendship. The agreement was signed on Thursday between Buyelwa Sonjica, the Minister of Minerals and Energy Affairs, and Jean-Marie Bockel, the French Deputy Minister for North-South cooperation.
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/ 27 February 2008
The City of Johannesburg on Wednesday launched a timetable of possible four-hour power cuts to help industry and residents plan ahead. The timetable, effective from March 1, divides the city into eight geographic blocks and sets out the times when planned power cuts could occur, explained Vally Padayachee, director of engineering operations for City Power.
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/ 24 February 2008
The African National Congress has ordered an audit of all empowerment deals and tenders that were received by its investment company, Chancellor House, media reports said on Sunday. Earlier this month, the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> reported that Chancellor House would exit two multibillion-rand contracts with Eskom.
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/ 22 February 2008
Eskom wants the country’s energy regulator to raise a 14,2% tariff hike it granted the utility last year, citing escalating coal prices as it battles a nationwide power crisis. Eskom, which generates most of its electricity from coal, said on Friday it wants tariffs hiked even more than the 18,7% it had initially requested last year but which was rejected by the regulator.
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/ 20 February 2008
The government will fund embattled electricity producer Eskom to the tune of R60-billion over the next five years, according to national budget documents tabled by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday. At the same time, it will introduce a levy in a bid to get consumers to save electricity.
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/ 20 February 2008
Eskom is not as concerned about the domestic availability of sufficient coal as it is with the speed at which it could be mined, <i>Business Day</i> reported on Wednesday. The national power utility is also worried about logistical problems in transporting the coal to power stations.
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/ 20 February 2008
South Africa is sitting on gold, platinum and other minerals that are selling at record prices on world markets, yet its economy is, quite literally, underpowered. The rand, the worst performing currency this year, has lost 12% against the dollar in the past month since the country was hit with electricity shortages that kept mines from working.
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/ 15 February 2008
Eskom on Friday put out requests for proposals for cogeneration projects as part of its plan to bolster faltering electricity supplies. Eskom spokesperson Andrew Etzinger explained that ”cogeneration” is when industrialists sell waste by-products that can be used to generate electricity.
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/ 14 February 2008
The power situation has eased somewhat over the past few days and there has been no load-shedding since February 4, Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga told reporters on Thursday in Sunninghill, near Johannesburg. Maroga was announcing measures to be taken by Eskom to resolve the country’s electricity crisis.
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/ 5 February 2008
Eskom has removed the man in charge of its power stations, the <i>Business Report</i> said on Tuesday. Ehud Matya has been replaced by Brian Dames, another Eskom executive, who will now be responsible for primary energy, power plants and his existing portfolio of capital investment.
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/ 1 February 2008
Mines had their power levels increased from 80% to 90% on Friday but they still needed a guarantee of a reliable power supply, the Gold Fields mining company said on Friday. On Thursday, Eskom backtracked on an undertaking when it promised to provide 90% of its normal power supplies to mining companies.
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/ 31 January 2008
Understandably, in a time of crisis someone has to carry the blame.
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/ 31 January 2008
Gold Fields, the world’s fourth-largest gold producer, on Thursday warned that it may be forced to close shafts and restructure as a result of Eskom’s request that the mining industry reduce its power use by 10%. Gold Fields CEO Ian Cockerill warned that the power shortages in South Africa would affect production in the March quarter.
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/ 31 January 2008
South Africa’s crippling power crisis will not put off investors nor limit its ability to stage the 2010 Soccer World Cup, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said on Wednesday. Rolling power cuts have plagued homes, businesses and the mining industry in South Africa for weeks and are likely to continue for about five years, according to state power utility Eskom.
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/ 30 January 2008
South Africans can save electricity by going to sleep earlier and boiling less water, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica on Wednesday told a special sitting of Parliament to discuss the power crisis. Nationwide power cuts began again at 3pm on Wednesday, said electricity provider Eskom.
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/ 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.”
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/ 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.
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/ 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.
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/ 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.
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/ 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.
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/ 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?
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/ 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.
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/ 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.
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/ 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.
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/ 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.
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/ 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.
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/ 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.
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/ 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.