South Africa's electricity sector has been under pressure for nearly a decade and although Eskom has made strides in building new power stations and fixing existing ones, what good is surplus electricity when the economy is expected to remain weak? StatsSA on Thursday released electricity production figures for November that show production increased 2.1% year on year compared with October 2016. The figures also show that seasonally adjusted electricity production increased by 0.2% in the three months ended November 2016 compared with the previous three months. Overall, 2016 electricity production increased slightly compared to 2015, when the country was hit with load-shedding. Econometrix chief economist Azar Jammine said that available capacity would not necessarily push up economic growth dramatically - inadequate supply would simply cease being a negative factor. Chris Yelland, an energy analyst at EE Publishers, said: "In the absence of load-shedding, when there is no restricti...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.