Eskom ready for the cold snap, and R4 billion blow to South Africa

Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:

• Cold weather power pressure: Cold weather is expected across South Africa this weekend, but Eskom says it has made a provision to meet the increased demand. A severe low-pressure system will hit the country, bringing rain, cold weather, and snowfall, with Gauteng’s Joint Operations Committee warning residents to only travel if it is essential. [EWN]

• R4 billion fibre pain: Remgro says that regulatory delays in processing a R10 billion merger of its fibre assets with Vodacom have resulted in a lost “opportunity cost” of between R3 billion and R4 billion. Remgro said that there were “significant opportunity costs, not just for CVIH, but for the country.” Last year, the Competition Commission recommended that the Competition Tribunal prohibit the transaction, fearing it would decrease competition. [News24]

• Gauteng water woes not going away: Residents in Gauteng will likely continue experiencing water supply issues, with higher temperatures over the last week leading to increased demand. Rand Water says that Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and Tshwane are all exceeding their water consumption allocations. Many believe that the root cause of the crisis lies in inadequate infrastructure that has not received the required maintenance. [TimesLive]

• Tshwane chaos: Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink may only hold his role for one more week, with a motion of no confidence tabled against him. Brink believes that the metro is currently in a period of political stability, with the city aiming to be cash positive in the next financial year, allowing it to pay its debt to Eskom over the medium term, increase salaries and improve infrastructure.

• Markets: The rand held onto early gains seen on early Thursday following the South African Reserve Bank’s decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points. This came after the US Fed cut rates by a super-sized 50 basis points. On Friday (20 September), the rand was trading at R17.50 to the dollar, R23.28 to the pound, and R19.54 to the euro. Oil is trading at $73.71 a barrel. [Reuters]