Repairs to Majuba power plant reduce need for S.Africa blackouts-Eskom

Reuters
A man walks past electricity pylons as he returns from work in Soweto, outside Johannesburg May 15, 2012. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Emergency repairs to the Majuba power station in South Africa have added around 1,800 megawatts to the grid, reducing the need for controlled power outages, a spokesman for state-run electricity utility Eskom said on Thursday. "We are using mobile feeders to deliver the coal to the units at Majuba. They are basically temporary conveyer belts," spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said. A silo at Majuba collapsed last year, triggering a wave of rolling blackouts that disrupted business and annoyed the man on the street in Africa's most advanced economy. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard)