One of South Africa’s newest power plants, designed to supply the grid during peak-use periods, is defective and has been limited to operate at lower capacity.
The deepest power cuts in more than a decade imposed by cash-strapped, state-owned Eskom this month reduced the chances of the continent’s most-industrialised economy posting a stronger recovery from last year’s recession.
Eskom is battling to meet demand and is considered one of the country’s biggest risks.
The Ingula pumped-storage project, a hydropower plant, was completed two years ago as part of the government’s program to boost generation capacity, was designed to provide at least 1 332 megawatts during periods of peak demand.