Again, power cuts engulf South Africa

By Tasie Theodore

The power crisis in South Africa is far from normalising as the Southern African nation’s embattled power utility, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. has warned that current spate of blackouts may continue further after some five days of intermittent supply.

In a statement, the utility announced it would cut 4,000 megawatts from the grid this Monday,

Cash challenges, plant failures and coal-handling challenges have been afflicting the utility for a while now.

Eskom had in July announced record losses for the business year ending March 2019, posting a negative showing of – ZAR 20.7 Billion.

The embattled state-owned company which accounts for 95 per cent of the power supply output in South Africa’s electricity had been struggling with a compounded 454 billion-rand debt, declining revenue and aging power plants.

Indeed, the poor supply situation has triggered all kinds of reactions in the country with some consumers even declining to settle their bills.