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South Africa’s power company Eskom has warned that it may be forced to cut supplies to Zimbabwe because of mounting debts, news reports said.
“Obviously it’s a worry for us and we’re taking steps through the correct process to address it,” a senior Eskom manager Peter O’Connor told journalists on Tuesday. “We have informed them that if we are stretched with our local customers who are good payers, they will be the first to be cut.”
The Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) imports a third of its power needs from Eskom. In June, the South African utility cut power supplies from 450 megawatts to 150 megawatts due to payment problems related to Zimbabwe’s foreign currency crisis. In June, ZESA’s debt was reportedly US $20 million. Although a trust account has been set up into which ZESA is supposed to deposit foreign currency as soon as it becomes available, Eskom said nothing had yet been received.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions