The President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, has apologised for the electricity problems that have gripped his country and promised that the problem would be fixed.

Speaking in Cape Town the President said: "It is necessary to take this opportunity to convey to the country the apologies of both the Government and Eskom for the national emergency."

He blamed the increasing demand for electricity outstripping the new capacity.

Making his annual state of the nation address, the President assured South Africa that the Government would focus on reducing customer demand while looking into energy options for the future.

"We have emergency task teams dealing with the challenge of coal quality and supply ... and we are working to fast-track the approval and construction of gas turbine projects," he explained.

President Mbeki's apology comes alongside the head of Eskom, Jacob Maroga, insisting that changes to the firm's management had been made.

A board meeting approved structural changes this week and confirmed that supply had been a big factor rather than demand.

Load losses, poor coal supply, unplanned outages and problems with maintenance have all contributed to Eskom running at 25 per cent less than its 10,000MW capacity, according to Engineering News.

This problem led to the load-shedding and the loss of power supply which forced platinum and gold mines to close.

"The key focus of the new executive management structure will be on the achievement of Eskom's strategic goals, in particular the continuity of supply, the successful execution of the build programme to ensure security of supply into the future and the financial sustainability of Eskom," a statement from the group said.

Meanwhile, Ridge Mining is looking into the prospect of developing its own power supply to ensure its platinum group metals (PGMs) project at Sheba's Ridge has guaranteed power supply.

Francis Jonhstone, Commercial Director of Ridge Mining, said the firm has enlisted the services of Pace Global Energy Services to assess the option available.

"It's still early days. We'll know more in three months when Pace has completed its initial study," he said.

The project will need about 350MW of power due to the inclusion of a smelter as well as mining operations making its energy needs significantly higher than Blue Ridge.

Eskom has asked the mines to cut their energy consumption by between ten and 15 per cent to prevent load-shedding, according to Jacob Maroga, Chief Executive Officer of the utility.

"The task team will meet very soon and will begin to communicate the current challenges that we have, but, more importantly, to come up with concrete solutions on how we move forward," he told Mining Weekly.

A process of schedule pumping in the mines could save electricity and a report in September, Measurement and Verification Methodology of a Pump Scheduling Project in the Mining Industry, revealed that the mines and Eskom can help the demand-side management (DSM).

Eskom is also urging customers to practice energy efficiency by offering tips on their website.

As mining firms look for alternative ways of generating power and questions over the strength of the economy are raised, the National Treasury has moved to reassure the country that there will not be a recession.

Director General of the Treasury Lesetja Kganyago told SABC Radio: "Yes, the electricity situation will have an impact on economic growth.

"We will not grow as fast as we expected to grow this year, but it is not anything that we have to lose sleep about. The South African economy is not going into recession," he said.

Sources:

New Eskom structure at last acknowledges supply-side failures, 08/02/08
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=126486

SAfrica's Mbeki apologises for power cuts, 08/02/08
http://www.africasia.com/services/news/newsitem.php?area=africa&item=080208095639.ocjwzdex.php

S.Africa growth to slow, but no recession-Treasury, 07/02/08
http://www.guardian.co.uk/feedarticle?id=7290416

Pumping powerhouses taking load off SA’s shoulders, 08/02/08
http://www.miningweekly.co.za/article.php?a_id=125277

http://www.eskomdsm.co.za/

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