SA threatens to cut Zimbabwe power supplies

Electricity shortages in Zimbabwe could get worse after South Africa, which often supplies energy to its crisis-ridden northern neighbour, made it clear yesterday that it would now prioritise its own needs.

South Africa's Public Enterprises minister Lynne Brown said Zimbabwe, which has a loose power agreement with the country's energy provider, Eskom, would have its power supply interrupted if energy shortages in South Africa persisted.

In a written reply in Parliament to an opposition legislator, who had asked about Eskom's agreements with regional countries in the South African Power Pool - relating to the importation and exportation of electricity — Brown said Eskom had varying power purchase and sales agreements with a number of entities in the seven countries in the pool.

She said if South Africa suffered load shedding, then Zimbabwe and Zambia would have their power supply interrupted as the two countries had "non-firm" agreements with Eskom, which meant that their energy would be supplied as and when it was available.

With regards to Mozambique, SA had several firm agreements with the country's power entities - Cahora Bassa, the Mozambique Transmission Company and Aggreko.

Similarly, firm power sales agreements applied to The Swaziland Electricity Company (SEC), as well as to the Lesotho Electricity Company, the Botswana Power Corporation and Namibian power utilities. Brown said the principles that applied to supply agreements during emergencies included that trading partners were required to utilise all their own generation capacity to the maximum and all non-firm energy supplies were reduced to zero before moving into load curtailment.

In addition, all firm energy supplies were reduced by 10 percent when there was a load curtailment imposed on South African customers.

"Trading partners are required to enforce the 10 percent reduction on their customer base," the minister added.