About 50 per cent of South African mines are yet to provide Eskom with the necessary information to make the additional power allocations to projects affected by the energy crisis.

According to reports from Mining Weekly, a number of mines are yet to tell Eskom their exact requirements as the firm makes plans to allocate an extra five per cent of power.

Andrew Etzinger, a spokesperson for Eskom, told Mining Weekly Online: "We've received applications from less than one-half of the mines at the moment.

"What we would want to do is to actually publish the names of customers and the extent to which they have reduced load, effectively to thank them for their contribution," he explained.

Whether the names of the mines contributing to the scheme are released depends on the cooperation of the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG), according to Mr Etzinger.

"We are looking to the EIUG to advise us as to how we communicate with regard to the saving contribution or the load reduction of its members," he explained.

Meanwhile, Mozambique is set to increase power supplies to South Africa in addition to the 75 per cent of Mozambique's power already sold to the country.

A senior official from the Cahora Bassa Dam told the BBC that refurbishment of the facility has allowed more energy to be sent to South Africa.

Source:

More than half of SA’s mines yet to lodge additional power requests - Eskom, 20/03/08
http://www.miningweekly.co.za/article.php?a_id=129675

Mozambique to aid SA power crisis, 21/03/08
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7308442.stm

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