Power consumption drops

Fri, 04 Jul 2008

The estimated consumption of electricity in May 2008 decreased by 2.5 percent compared with May 2007, Statistics SA said on Thursday.

The estimated volume of electricity consumed (available for distribution) for the three months ending May 2008 decreased by 1.5 percent compared with the three months ending May 2007.

Electricity consumption after seasonal adjustment for the latest three months ending May 2008 decreased by 0.6 percent, compared with the previous three months ended February 2008.

The estimated production of electricity, after seasonal adjustment, showed a decrease of 2.1 percent for the three months ending May 2008 compared with the preceding three months, Stats SA said.

The estimated total production of electricity in May 2008 decreased by 2.1 percent compared with May 2007.

The estimated production of electricity during the latest three months ending May 2008 decreased by 1.1 percent compared with the same period of 2007.

International trade in electricity for 2008 to date showed annual decreases for electricity imported from outside South Africa (-20.7 percent) and electricity exported to neighbouring countries (-2.2 percent).

"The decrease in imports of electricity in the first five months of 2008 resulted from reduced availability from the Cahorra Bassa scheme owing to the planned refurbishment of an Eskom converter station, and the unavailability of the transmission network in Zambia, owing to system instability in that country."