S. Africa's Eskom to repeat worst-ever power cuts

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2 年前

STORY: South Africa faces sweeping power outages.

Utility Eskom said Tuesday (June 28) that it would have to implement so-called “Stage 6” cuts.

That after ten of its generation units went offline overnight, and as a strike disrupted operations.

The company has only once before had to take such drastic action.

But South Africa has faced years of restricted growth as a result of Eskom outages.

Its fleet of ageing coal-fired power stations is highly prone to faults.

The firm has implemented lesser “Stage 4” cuts since late last week.

That saw up to 4,000 megawatts shed from the national grid.

Stage 6 will see 6,000 megawatts taken offline.

Things last got that bad in December 2019.

Eskom plans talks with union leaders to resolve the strike.

It says the industrial action is illegal, as electricity supply is deemed an essential service.

The loss-making utility is saddled with over $25 billion in debts, and trying to contain costs as part of a turnaround plan.

South Africa’s government has made little headway with efforts to reform the company.