South African power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd, which generates about 95% of the country’s electricity, extended power cuts that started on January 4 until Monday after a conveyor belt failure at its Medupi plant – just as Andre de Ruyter officially takes over as head of the cash-strapped company.
Eskom extended stage 2 load-shedding, the local term for scheduled blackouts, through Monday at 5am, the utility said on Sunday in an emailed statement. That means the company is removing 2,000 megawatts from the national grid. The resumption of power cuts, which have stunted growth in Africa’s most-industrialised economy, illustrates the challenge facing De Ruyter, who left packaging company Nampak Ltd earlier than originally scheduled to start at Eskom following an urgent request from cabinet.
“Owing to inadequate maintenance over a number of years, the system remains vulnerable to unplanned outages,” Eskom said in its statement. De Ruyter, who is expected to begin formal duties at the company on Monday - earlier than the originally planned start date of January 15 – is tasked with turning around the debt-laden power utility, which has been described by Goldman Sachs Group Inc as the biggest threat to South Africa’s economy.
The Medupi plant is one of two massive coal stations under construction that are years behind schedule. The new builds, which are costing double the initial budget, have been found to be defective, while the remainder of Eskom’s power station fleet is poorly maintained and prone to unplanned outages.
Businesses return from a holiday break by mid-January, increasing the demand for electricity. “The system remains constrained and vulnerable, and as such load-shedding stage 2 will unfortunately have to continue,” Eskom said.
from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/2FoZkQ0
Comments
Post a Comment