- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- With medical report Harris seeks to play health card against Trump
- China-EU EV tariff talks in Brussels end with 'major differences': Beijing
- Buried Nazi past haunts Athens on liberation anniversary
- Harris to release medical report confirming fitness for presidency: campaign
- Nobel prize a timely reminder, Hiroshima locals say
- China offers $325 bn in fiscal stimulus for ailing economy
- Small Quebec company dominates one part of NHL hockey: jerseys
- Boeing to cut 10% of workforce as it sees big Q3 loss
- Want to film in Paris? No sexism allowed
- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
Energy firm warns S.Africa to brace for 'difficult winter'
South Africa's struggling state-owned power firm Eskom on Thursday forecast a difficult winter with demand set to rise in the continent's most industrialised but energy-starved country.
Eskom warned that it may ramp up crippling power outages to prevent a national grid collapse as winter arrives in the coming weeks.
"It's going to be a difficult winter," Calib Cassim, the company's interim CEO told a news briefing in Johannesburg.
But a total "blackout is unlikely," he said, allaying fears of South Africans as the southern hemisphere winter, which starts in June, sends energy demand soaring.
Winter demand for power is expected to surge to around 33,000 megawatts but Eskom is only able to produce 26,000 megawatts out of its installed capacity of 47,500 megawatts.
Already the country is going into winter with a shortfall of some 3,000 megawatts compared to last year as its Koeberg nuclear power station is undergoing an overhaul. One of the country's newest coal-powered stations Kusile, has suffered major breakdowns.
"In terms of capacity that's available, we are starting on the back foot with 3,080 megawatts less," said Segomoco Scheppers, who is the Eskom executive responsible for transmission.
"This is going to be a very, very tight winter in terms of supply and demand," said Scheppers, adding "the scenarios of the winter outlook indicate loadshedding could intensify".
Loadshedding refers to scheduled power cuts imposed on rotational basis across parts of the country in order to avoid a total blackout.
This is how Eskom balances supply with demand, and people have been forced to endure blackouts of up to 12 hours a day.
Blackouts could last even longer if planned repair works are not effective.
South Africa's power crisis has deepened over the past year.
The shortages are blamed on insufficient investments in the country's ageing or poorly designed coal-fired power plants, corruption, crime and sabotage.
A.Leibowitz--CPN