What's behind the sudden easing of SA's power cuts | Business

The improvement has surprised many citizens who had become hardened to the rolling outages, imposed by state utility Eskom to safeguard the grid whenever demand outstrips supply.Despite forecasts last month of"an incredibly difficult" southern hemisphere winter by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, power supplies have dramatically improved.

Increased prices have also forced businesses to consume less, said specialist Tshepo Kgadima, who told AFP: To help make up the shortfall in supply, Eskom has also turned to emergency turbines that burn through 14 litres of fuel per second - 50 400 litres per hour, with some R30 billion budgeted for diesel purchases.South Africa's recent power boost has also come from the postponement of planned maintenance.

But, warned energy analyst Lungile Mashele,"there is a very significant risk" if Eskom fails to keep pace with its ageing plants' maintenance needs. In May the central bank forecast GDP will grow by just 0.3 percent this year, and the power cuts alone would cost the economy at least two percentage points of growth.

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