electricity cuts - The African Mirror

May

14

2024

South Africa’s Ramaphosa denies pause in power cuts is linked to election

NEWS

SOUTH African President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected opposition allegations that a recent pause in the electricity cuts that have plagued the country for years was due to an election coming up on May 29. Rolling power cuts imposed by state utility Eskom reached record levels in 2023 and continued in the first quarter of this year, but there has now been no load-shedding, as South Africans call the cuts, for 48 straight days, the longest period for more than two years. Over the same 48-day period last year, there were power cuts every day, according to data collected by The Outlier,…

Zimbabwe gold output declines 15% amid electricity, forex shortages

BUSINESS

ZIMBABWE produced 30 metric tons of gold in 2023, 15% less than the previous year, official data showed, as electricity cuts and currency volatility impacted output. The southern African country was once among the top gold producers on the continent but has fallen far behind regional peers Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Tanzania as an extended economic crisis kept investors away. Zimbabwe remains largely under-explored and its operating mines struggle to raise capital due to concerns over government policy and property rights, especially after the seizure of white-owned farms at the turn of the century. Output plunged to a…

South Africa’s power outages could reach critical levels this winter – likely scenarios

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

OVER the past 15 years South Africa has been experiencing a gradually worsening number of electricity cuts. This state of affairs has prompted frustration among citizens, negative international economic sentiment and financial hardship for many businesses. Public pressure has grown more intense, leading to the extraordinary presidential decision by President Cyril Ramaphosa to proclaim a state of disaster as well as to appoint a Minister of Electricity. Author HARTMUT WINKLER, Professor of Physics, University of Johannesburg The year 2022 was marked by the worst power outages in the country’s history. Electricity generation deficits reached up to 6 GW on occasion,…