Eskom Starts First South African Power Blackouts Since 2008
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Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. began rolling scheduled blackouts in South Africa for the first time in six years after rain disrupted the state-run utility’s supply of coal, burned to generate more than 80 percent of power.
The company earlier today asked industrial users, including Sasol Ltd. and ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd., to scale back demand by 10 percent until at least 9 p.m. The cities of Cape Town and Johannesburg issued timetables for power cuts, and the rapid-rail Gautrain network temporarily stopped services between the Marlboro and Rosebank stations in Johannesburg.