Bloomberg
South African power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd, which generates about 95% of the country’s electricity, extended power cuts that started on January 4 until Monday after a conveyor belt failure at its Medupi plant — just as Andre de Ruyter officially takes over as head of the cash-strapped company.
Eskom extended stage 2 load-shedding, the local term for scheduled blackouts, through Monday at 5 am, the utility said on Sunday. That means the company is removing 2,000 megawatts from the national grid. The resumption of power cuts, which have stunted growth in Africa’s most-industrialised economy, illustrates the challenge facing De Ruyter, who left packaging company Nampak Ltd earlier than originally scheduled to start at Eskom following an urgent request from cabinet.