South Africa’s state-owned Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. will reduce the intensity of power cuts over the weekend.
(Bloomberg) — South Africa’s state-owned Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. will reduce the intensity of power cuts over the weekend.
The utility will cut 3,000 megawatts of power from the national grid from Saturday 5 a.m. until Sunday 5 a.m., then 2,000 megawatts until 4 p.m., before reverting to 3,000 megawatts until 5 a.m. Monday.
South African Rand Pays an Eskom Premium for Nation’s Power Crisis (Feb. 10, 2:01 p.m.)
The Eskom risk premium is in full force for South Africa’s rand.
The currency of Africa’s most industrialized economy is headed for a fourth weekly loss versus the dollar, the longest streak since an emerging-market-wide selloff in October. This time, the under-performance is specific to South Africa. The rand is down 4.7% this year, while most of its peers are firmer, with Chile’s peso racking gains of over 6%.
Odds of Recession Within Next Year in South Africa Climb to 68% (Feb. 10, 2 p.m.)
South Africa’s economy is increasingly vulnerable to a recession in the next 12 months, with an ongoing electricity crisis seen further curbing activity.
The probability of a recession stands at 68%, up from odds of 45% in January, according to Bloomberg’s latest monthly survey of economists. The poll was conducted Feb. 3-9, with six economists responding to a question about the chance of a recession.
Ramaphosa Dusts Off Covid-Era Playbook as Energy Crisis Mounts (Feb. 10, 1:36 p.m.)
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s declaration of a state of disaster over the nation’s energy crisis resorts to a measure last invoked to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and resulted in a massive squandering of public funds.
The decree will help the government bypass bureaucratic hurdles so it can accelerate new projects and equipment repairs, Ramaphosa said in his state-of-the-nation address on Thursday. It will also enable the government to exempt hospitals and water-treatment plants from outages, and enable it to assist food producers and retailers affected by the blackouts, he said.
Read: Ramaphosa Dusts Off Covid-Era Playbook as Energy Crisis Mounts
New Power Minister to Accelerate South African Projects: Gordhan (Feb. 10, 8:48 a.m.)
The energy crisis state of disaster declared by Ramaphosa will facilitate procurement of equipment to repair damaged power plants, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says in interview with Bloomberg Television.
The minister sees the electricity outages ending in 12 to 18 months.
Self-Generation Seen Mitigating South Africa’s Energy Crisis (Feb. 9, 12:55 p.m.)
Self-generation of electricity by South African businesses and households is likely to reduce rolling blackouts without compromising the state power utility’s business model, according to the continent’s biggest bank.
As much as 1,000 megawatts of additional generating capacity from privately owned auxiliary power systems could be added annually in Africa’s most industrialized economy, said Goolam Ballim, chief economist at Standard Bank Group Ltd. That’s equivalent to a one-stage reduction in power outages, known locally as load-shedding.
Read: Self-Generation Seen Mitigating South Africa’s Energy Crisis
Eskom Air Pollution Risk 79,500 Lives, Study Projects (Feb. 9, 9:32 a.m.)
Air pollution from coal-fired power plants run by Eskom risks killing 79,500 people from 2025 until they are due to be shut, according to a study submitted to a government-appointed panel.
The research by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air assumes that the utility will continue to operate its plants as it does currently, with many of them breaching South African emission standards. The study was cited on Wednesday by the Centre for Environmental Rights, a legal organization representing environmental activist organizations in its submission to a panel on air pollution.
–With assistance from Prinesha Naidoo, Paul Burkhardt, Jennifer Zabasajja, Antony Sguazzin, S’thembile Cele, Paul Vecchiatto and Amogelang Mbatha.
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