JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s electricity minister said on Sunday the country was closer to ending daily power cuts as warmer weather returns towards the end of the year.
South Africa is on course to see its most blackout days in history this year with daily power cuts extending to almost 10 hours a day, affecting businesses and households in an economy already hobbled by high interest rates and inflation.
The power cuts, called loadshedding locally, is expected to shave off 2 percentage points from GDP this year, the central bank said last month.
Blackouts have eased in the past few weeks but there is a fear that as the southern hemisphere winter takes deeper hold in July and August, higher heating demand could trip many power plants. By September, the temperature starts to climb once more. “I know when we get into summer conditions, then at the current rate, generation will far exceed demand,” Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said in a news conference.
— Reuters
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