South Africa, bedevilled by electricity blackouts in recent years, has enough power capacity for the World Cup, the state utility company said on Thursday.
South Africa suffered severe power outages in early 2008 that badly hit the mining industry, but the acting chairman and chief executive of power utility Eskom, Mpho Makwana, said the lights would stay on during Africa’s first World Cup in June.
Makwana said Eskom was “very comfortable†that it would be able to handle electricity demand. “We have got adequate power to keep South Africa going throughout the calendar year 2010,†he told Reuters.
Eskom, which supplies 95 percent of South Africa’s power, bought in electricity from independent firms to meet demand this year.
No power cuts in June
