Eskom issues power warning
South Africa’s power supply is “severely constrained” and will remain so for the rest of the week because of technical problems, state-run power company, Eskom said on Wednesday.
“We have alerted our key industrial customers and have required them to reduce their load by a minimum of 10 percent,” Eskom said in a statement.
The power utility, which generates, transmits and distributes approximately 95% of the electricity used in South Africa, is currently facing a number of crises, both in terms of its power supply as well as financially.
Tabling his first Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene committed government to a range of measures aimed at helping Eskom close its funding gap.
However, extending new debt guarantees for Eskom are not on the table.
Eskom faces a R225 billion revenue shortfall, partly as a result of being granted lower-than-expected tariff increases, and Nene conceded that the measures he was announcing would not cover this.
South African energy regulator, Nersa, recently approved Eskom’s plans to recoup losses after it had under-recovered money during the multi-year-price-determination 2 (MYPD2) control period between 2010 and 2013.
The body approved the regulatory clearing account (RCA) for Eskom, allowing it to recover R7.82 billion in revenue, which would see wholesale tariffs increase by 12.7% in 2015 – up from the previously sanctioned 8% increase.
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Get ready for a 12.7% electricity price hike
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