Home Southern Africa Power cuts may be behind us shortly: South African Power Minister

Power cuts may be behind us shortly: South African Power Minister

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South Africa could be nearing the end of daily power cuts. Minister of Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said that South Africa was beginning to keep up with demand and that the country could soon have no blackouts for twenty-four hours, though he declined to give a specific date.

South Africa could be nearing the end of daily power cuts. Minister of Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said that South Africa was beginning to keep up with demand and that the country could soon have no blackouts for twenty-four hours, though he declined to give a specific date.

South Africa is set to see its most blackout days in history this year, with daily power cuts of up to almost 10 hours a day.  The load shedding, as the cuts are known locally, has heavily impacted businesses and households.  The economy is already struggling under high inflation and interest rates and the power cuts are expected to reduce GDP by 2 percentage points in 2023.

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Blackouts have eased in recent weeks. The government implements load-shedding in stages ranging from one to eight, with eight being the highest and resulting in over 10 hours of daily power cuts.  With the power generation beginning to keep up with demand, Ramokgopa says the country would be coming down from Stage 6 to Stage 3 in the space of six weeks.  However, as South Africa heads into its coldest months in July and August, there are fears that higher heating demands could outstrip electricity supply.