State of Emergency in South Africa over electricity shortages

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - South Africa said it would ration electricity, increase prices and encourage the switch to solar, all part of emergency measures in the face of power outages causing chaos and misery across the country and threatening economic growth.

Neighbors like Botswana and Namibia, which rely heavily on South African energy
exports, have also been badly hit by the disruptions in the region's economic and political powerhouse. The outages have undermined confidence in South Africa, with news of incidents like the stranding of hundreds of people on tourism icon Table Mountain spreading around the world.

«The unprecedented unplanned power outages must now be treated as a national electricity emergency situation that has to be addressed with urgent, vigorous and coordinated actions,» Public Enterprise Minister Alec Erwin told journalists after a Cabinet meeting.

«We are viewing the next two years as being critical,» he said. In two years, South Africa will be hosting the World Cup finals, the premier international soccer event, expected to draw more than 300,000 visitors.

South African businesses have been crippled by the outages, which usually occur without warning. In an indication of the severity of the crisis, major mining companies including AngloGold, Harmony and Goldfields suspended work at some of their mines Friday for fear power cuts would trap workers underground.

Goldfields said it stopped all its South African operations, including in the world's biggest gold mine, which produce 7,000 ounces per day. The trade union Solidarity said nearly 30,000 miners on the morning shift were affected. The company said that Eskom had warned that the disruption could last up to four weeks.

The South African Tourism Services Association said earlier this week that the crisis jeopardized the World Cup.

«Stadia may have all the most wonderful generators in the world to broadcast the games, but will people come to SA to see them if they know they will be going back to hotels and guest houses with no power? That means no hot meals, no clean laundry, no lights. And for those who do come, will we be able to get then to the games on time?» said the tourism association's Michael Tatalias. Erwin said measures over the next two years would help ease pressure on supply ahead of the World Cup.

«There is no threat to the successful holding of the event as plans to ensure electricity supply in that period are well advanced,» he said.

The government and Eskom say that demand for electricity in the buoyant economy has simply grown too fast to cope and now needs to be cut by 10-15 percent. But _ for the first time _ the government acknowledged it should share in the blame by ignoring a 1998 Eskom report warning of a serious energy crisis within 10 years. The government only gave the go-ahead to a new power station building program in 2004.

«The president has accepted that this government got its timing wrong,» Erwin said.
But he said that the government was not considering freezing planned electricity-gobbling industrial projects, like a big new aluminum smelter, as had been suggested by Eskom.

Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said South Africa, which has until now relied heavily on its cheap and abundant coal for electricity, would put more effort into developing renewable energy.

The government was also considering emergency measures to compel South African mines to supply the state utility Eskom with more and better coal rather than exporting it.

Full article continues at: South Africa declares Electricity Emergency


Renewable Power and Solar Energy Stocks News:

Many solar stocks have traded 25% to 50% below their 52 week highs in recent days, and some would argue these represent bargains in renewable energy stock sector.

Bloomberg's David Wilson shares his views the decline in alternative energy stocks:

"Makers of solar-power equipment have followed the lead of ethanol producers, another segment of the alternative-energy industry, by going through a boom-and-bust cycle in stock markets worldwide.

The World Solar Energy Index, consisting of 10 of the industry's biggest members, has declined 37 percent this year after soaring almost 21-fold in the last four years. Renewable Energy Corp., the worst performer among the index's five most- heavily weighed components, has tumbled 48 percent.

Rising costs have contributed to the retreat. Renewable Energy, based in Hovik, Norway, said this month that research and development spending will climb fourfold through 2010. The company also wants to build three new solar-cell factories and add a plant for making polysilicon, a type of purified silicon used in cells.

The index peaked in December, about 18 months after a surge in ethanol makers ended. Pacific Ethanol Inc., for one, has lost 87 percent since setting an all-time high in May 2006."


MSN Moneycentral reports Piper Jaffray has upgraded Sunpower Corp (SPWR) to Buy from Neutral and raised their target to $105 from $94 on future earnings strength, saying shares of SPWR have lost most of its valuation premium relative to competitors. The firm says:

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Martin Asset Management, of Tarzana, California, has announced it is launching the Ilios Alternative Energy Fund.

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The International Energy Agency has a program for renewable power testing called the Solar Heating and Cooling Programme. It was established in 1977, as one of the first programmes of the International Energy Agency. The Programme�s work is unique in that it is accomplished through the international collaborative effort of experts from Member countries and the European Commission.