Power cuts won’t hurt economic growth

PRETORIA – The power outages that plunged much of South Africa into darkness last week will not hurt economic growth or cost the nation nearly as much as some have predicted, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said yesterday.

Factories, mines and homes throughout Africa’s economic powerhouse lost electricity last Thursday without warning, prompting fears that a looming energy crisis could trim the nation’s fast-growing economy. Some analysts estimated that state utility Eskom would have to spend massively in the coming years to build new power stations to meet increasing demand from businesses and residential consumers.”The responses tend to be overcooked.The numbers that they generate are complete and utter garbage …It will not affect growth,” Manuel said after a press conference in Pretoria, the country’s capital.Manuel added that Eskom’s capacity was sufficient for now and that it was normal for power plants to be shut down for routine maintenance, as occurred last week when some 4 600 megawatts of capacity were taken off line.”Eskom chose what should be the lightest (demand) period,” Manuel said, adding that it was best to carry out such shutdowns ahead of the winter months in South Africa, when demand traditionally peaks.Eskom, which has been under pressure to repair ageing infrastructure, is in the process of recommissioning three mothballed power plants and has announced plans for massive investments to shore up its capacity.South Africa’s power woes have raised political temperatures in the past, with critics accusing the government of turning a blind eye to an energy crisis that could worsen as the nation prepares to host the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.The recent cuts, which Eskom attributed to station maintenance and the shut down of a unit at the country’s only nuclear power plant, caused outages from Cape Town to Johannesburg.Some companies announced that they would turn to generators to avoid losing more business in future outages.Nampa-ReutersSome analysts estimated that state utility Eskom would have to spend massively in the coming years to build new power stations to meet increasing demand from businesses and residential consumers.”The responses tend to be overcooked.The numbers that they generate are complete and utter garbage …It will not affect growth,” Manuel said after a press conference in Pretoria, the country’s capital.Manuel added that Eskom’s capacity was sufficient for now and that it was normal for power plants to be shut down for routine maintenance, as occurred last week when some 4 600 megawatts of capacity were taken off line.”Eskom chose what should be the lightest (demand) period,” Manuel said, adding that it was best to carry out such shutdowns ahead of the winter months in South Africa, when demand traditionally peaks.Eskom, which has been under pressure to repair ageing infrastructure, is in the process of recommissioning three mothballed power plants and has announced plans for massive investments to shore up its capacity.South Africa’s power woes have raised political temperatures in the past, with critics accusing the government of turning a blind eye to an energy crisis that could worsen as the nation prepares to host the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.The recent cuts, which Eskom attributed to station maintenance and the shut down of a unit at the country’s only nuclear power plant, caused outages from Cape Town to Johannesburg.Some companies announced that they would turn to generators to avoid losing more business in future outages.Nampa-Reuters