August 26 2008
Argentina: Productores del sur tucumano sufren por la escasez de gasoil
The shortage of diesel has become critical in southern Tucumano in recent days. The problem, which is attributed to reduced delivery of fuel from dealers, began to create problems with the transport of sugar cane to the mills.
"We began to worry about the situation in recent days because you are only buying diesel to an amount of $50. For us, we have to transport raw material several kilometers per day, it is a negligible quantity," said producer Carlos Diaz.
Ecuador: Escasez de gasolina en Francisco de Orellana
An almost total gasoline shortages occurred in the past four days in Francisco de Orellana. The reason, according to the administrator of the service station Payamino, Reinaldo Balcázar, it's because quotas were reduced fuel stations.
India: Diesel shortage drives vegetable prices up
Power outages seem to be having a ripple effect, with generators guzzling diesel and the resultant fuel shortage driving up vegetable prices.
Though without an official announcement, Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) has powercuts from Sunday. Many parts of the city and suburbs did not have power for more than an hour on Monday. "Whenever there is power cut, the IT companies and other commercial establishments start using generators. This adds to diesel shortage and affects prices of vegetables and other commodities," said T Sadagopan, a consumer activist.
India: Power cuts go up by 1 hr
In order to reduce emergency load-shedding, which causes inconvenience to consumers, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) head office has directed chief engineers to increase by one hour the scheduled power cuts from August 27.
This means the duration of power cut in Congress Nagar division will be 4 hrs 45 min, Mahal - 7 hours, and Civil Lines and Gandhibagh - 7 hrs 45 min each.
India: Power cuts are back with more trouble
After a brief respite, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) has started load shedding again. Many parts of the city and suburbs did not have power for more than an hour on Sunday.
The failure of monsoon in neighbouring states left reservoirs that generate hydro-electricity parched. As the entire southern grid was short of electricity and the government announced scheduled power cuts. Tamil Nadu suffered a shortage of 1,000 mega watts (MW) of power. While power was cut for an hour a day in the city, the suburbs had power cuts for two hours.
Indonesia: Indonesia May Import 25.5 Million Kiloliters of Fuels as Local Output Lags
Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, may import 25.5 million kiloliters of fuels in 2008, regulator BPHilir Migas said.
Indonesians may consume 65 million kiloliters of fuels this year, while its domestic refineries may produce 39.5 million kiloliters, Tubagus Haryono, chairman of BPHilir Migas, said in Jakarta today.
Mexico: Mexico's Cantarell oil output falls again in July
Crude output from Mexico's struggling Cantarell oil field fell for the 10th month in a row in July to 974,000 barrels per day, energy ministry data showed on Tuesday.
The fading jewel of Mexico's oil industry, Cantarell is now producing half what it was yielding at its 2004 peak, pulling down overall output in the world's No. 6 oil-producing nation and threatening Mexico's status as a top U.S. supplier.
Northern Marianas: Stores run out of generators, fans for sale
Consumers on Saipan are snapping up electric generators and a host of battery-powered gadgets to cope with the worsening plague of blackouts on the island, and now demand is so high that hardware stores are running out of stock.
Generators have long sold as a hot item for retailers on Saipan due to the chronic outages on the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. power grid, yet consumer interest in them has risen in recent weeks, retailers say, as the frequency of the blackouts has increased.
Pakistan: Reduced gas supply to power houses causes additional load-shedding
Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) has regretted inconvenience to consumers due to additional power outages, as it resorted to forced load-shedding in few areas due to reduced gas supplies to some power houses.
Pakistan: Power cuts persist with widening supply-demand gap
The city fell victim to hours-long spells of load-shedding again on Monday due to the seriously-widening shortfall of electricity.
After Saturday this is the second day when the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) faced a severe electricity shortage of over 600 Megawatts (MW), causing power load-shedding three to four times during 24 hours. The overall power supply demand of the city ranges around 2,100MW. Power consumers said that certain residential areas of the city, including North Nazimabad, Nazimabad, Liaquatabad, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Malir, Saddar, and Clifton, did without electricity for up to nine hours since Sunday night.
South Africa: Energy shortages cost South Africa R50 billion
Cost of energy shortage in South Africa has been estimated to be over R50-billion, National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) reported today.
Speaking at a conference on mining and metallurgical industry's response to power crisis, Nersa CEO Smunda Mokoena explained that economic impact of load shedding had been costed at R75 per kWh.
"The supply shortage caught South Africa by surprise," added Mr Mokoena.
