Economics

South Africa Hit by Record Blackouts, Raising Recession Risk

  • Power utility cuts 6,000 megawatts from national grid
  • Power cuts cripple economy, caused first-quarter contraction

Workers in a cafe use an emergency gas-powered lamp to illuminate the kitchen after a power outage in Johannesburg on Feb. 14.

Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg
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South Africa’s state power company intensified rolling blackouts to a record, signaling a deepening crisis at the debt-ridden utility and raising the risk of a second recession in as many years.