27 JUNE 2013www.iol.co.za
Eskom shuts BHP smelter to save power
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
1 min read
South African power utility Eskom briefly cut supply to one of BHP Billiton’s aluminium smelters on Monday night after nation-wide demand outstripped supply, a company spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
An agreement between state-run Eskom and BHP allow the utility to interrupt power to the latter's energy-intensive smelters if the national grid approaches a tipping point.
“We did interrupt supply to one of the BHP Billiton units for a time, but still have emergency reserves available,” spokeswoman Hilary Joffe said.
She also said Eskom ran gas turbines which it activates when supply is tight.
Eskom said on Monday the power reserve margin for the evening was expected to be extremely tight at 29 megawatts, or just 0.08 percent of available power.
The utility also has agreements with its other large customers as part of its “emergency resources” plan. Eskom, which provides 95 percent of the power to Africa’s biggest economy, has been walking a tightrope for five years as it tries to bring overdue new power plants online.
Increased demand during the southern hemisphere winter puts further strain on the system.
An agreement between state-run Eskom and BHP allow the utility to interrupt power to the latter's energy-intensive smelters if the national grid approaches a tipping point.
“We did interrupt supply to one of the BHP Billiton units for a time, but still have emergency reserves available,” spokeswoman Hilary Joffe said.
She also said Eskom ran gas turbines which it activates when supply is tight.
Eskom said on Monday the power reserve margin for the evening was expected to be extremely tight at 29 megawatts, or just 0.08 percent of available power.
The utility also has agreements with its other large customers as part of its “emergency resources” plan. Eskom, which provides 95 percent of the power to Africa’s biggest economy, has been walking a tightrope for five years as it tries to bring overdue new power plants online.
Increased demand during the southern hemisphere winter puts further strain on the system.
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