energy crisis

Botswana: BCP slams govt over food and energy crisis

Speaking during the BCP fourth national congress in Bobonong on Sunday, Saleshando said the government has failed the agricultural sector and neglected to tackle the imminent energy shortage. "The BDP government has failed the agricultural sector to an extent that it has totally collapsed. The current food crisis and soaring prices are a clear indication of this failure," Saleshando said. He asserted that the government does not have an answer to the food crisis.

Chile: Chile Power Use to Stagnate for 1st Time Since '82, Tokman Says

Chile's energy consumption will stop growing for the first time in 26 years after Argentina cut natural gas supplies and a drought curbed hydroelectric power, Energy Minister Marcelo Tokman said.

Power usage this year may be the same as last year or even fall, the first time that has happened since 1982 when the economy declined 14 percent, Tokman said in an interview in Santiago. Chile imports two-thirds of its energy needs.

China: China to tighten curbs on spot coal prices at major distribution centers

Power plants are reluctant to increase coal stockpiles due to the climbing costs, contributing to widespread power shortages.

According to the China Electricity Regulatory Commission, a power shortfall is expected to reach 16,000 megawatts this summer.

India: Power crisis fuels mad diesel rush

It was the third consecutive day on Wednesday when ‘abnormal’ rush of vehicles was seen in front of the petrol bunks of the city.

Oil companies say that there is nothing like shortage of diesel but the crisis has emerged due to the excess demand. An official with an oil company preferred to call it ‘abnormal demand’. The oil companies have blamed the growing power crisis in the state for the unexpected and unprecedented demand for diesel.

India: Brace for 7-hour power cuts

Power blackouts in the state are set to get longer. Bangaloreans who are already facing four hour power cuts will have to brace for 5-7 hour load-shedding per day. It is worse for the rural areas: this would mean 12-18 hour blackouts for them.

India: Load-shedding duration soon

The government on Wednesday imposed power cuts and load-shedding across the State, while restricting the daily consumption of power to 100 million units (MU), which presently is between 115 and 120 MUs a day.

Nepal: Govt not Doing Its Bit to Address Fuel Woes - NOC

Though the country has been facing a shortage of petroleum products for almost three years, the government has not prioritised this issue, said Digamber Jha, general manager of Nepal Oil Corporation.

Pakistan: Power outages continue

Several residential localities of the city on Wednesday came under prolonged spells of power breakdowns and load-shedding causing misery to their inhabitants as the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) continued to be unable to meet the power needs of the metropolis.

Saudi Arabia: Diesel shortage worsens for farmers

Rural areas of the Kingdom are facing an increasing problem of diesel shortage which is threatening their ability to produce and irrigate crops properly.
The problem originally confined to the Taif region has now spread to Al-Jouf and Hail regions.

Saudi Arabia: Blackout hits eastern and central parts

Most companies of Saudi Basic Industries Corp. were not able to operate in the Jubail Industrial City as a result of the power cut.

A source at SEC warned of similar outages in different parts of the Kingdom “because of extreme pressure on transmission lines, big demand and shortage in supply.”

South Africa: Eskom sees higher power cut risks over plant

South Africa's state power utility Eskom, struggling to meet domestic demand, said on Thursday it saw an increased risk of power load-shedding in the next few weeks while a unit at its nuclear plant was out for repairs.

Eskom said on Tuesday it had shut down one of two electricity generating units at its Koeberg nuclear power station after a technical fault.

Vietnam: August blackouts set to worsen with electricity cuts

Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) is not yet prepared to meet electricity demand for August, despite resident complaints.

Resident electricity usage is expected to top 12,800 MW per hour between 7am and 10pm next month. However, electricity generators can only fulfil 70 per cent of the demand, according to Dang Huy Cuong, the director of the National Electricity Dispatching Centre of EVN.

Argentina: Temen fracaso turístico en vacaciones de invierno, por altos precios, falta de combustible e incertidumbre

Price increases, fuel shortages and economic uncertainty could "falter" the tourist boom during winter holidays, the vice president of the Association of Hoteliers Gourmet of Argentina, Alberto Raballi said this morning.

Bangladesh: Solving power, energy crises

In the backdrop of electricity and gas supply shortage, the Chief Adviser is reported to have directed the concerned bodies of the government to bring about a quick solution to the problem. The country is facing a shortage of 200 million cubic feet of gas against a daily demand for 2000 mmcfd due to limited gas production and distribution. The shortage of electricity is 500 megawatts.

Cameroon: Cameroon Seeks Investment In Energy To Boost Aluminum Output

Cameroon's state-owned aluminum company is attracting investment in the country's energy sector to help boost output of the metal, an official at government-run Electricity Development Corporation, or EDC, said Friday.
EDC General Manager Celestin Ndonga told Dow Jones Newswires that because aluminum production is power-intensive, Cameroon's Société Camerounaise d'Aluminium, or Alucam, is trying to address the country's energy shortage.

India: Major power crisis grips city

Almost entire eastern Patna plunged into darkness on Thursday evening following a technical snag in the "power braker" (220 kV) at Fatuha. As a result, several localities, including Rajendra Nagar, Ashok Rajpath, Kankerbagh, Patna City and Sabzibagh, witnessed power cuts from 5.30 pm.

India: Petrol bunks run dry

Petrol and diesel shortage in the City seems to have taken a turn for the worse. This reality hit Bangaloreans in the face on Thursday morning, as several petrol bunks shut shop, leaving many in the lurch.

India: Power cut feared during day

A boiler snag in the CESC’s Budge Budge plant plunged much of the city into darkness this evening even as wet coal hobbled other power units in Bengal.

The shortfall during the evening peak hours shot up to 195MW amid signs the situation would be the same tomorrow.

India: Blackouts back again

The state government and its power utility may have spoken too early.

For, a day after the Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) proudly informed the high court that the state had “surplus power”, all sub-stations — including those in the capital — were ordered to enforce load shedding on an hourly basis.

Indonesia: Govt to regulate companies' operating hours

Beleaguered by rising oil prices and stalling electricity supply projects, the government is planning to issue a decree regulating company operating hours in a bid to reduce electricity consumption.

Speaking after a meeting with the Vice President on Thursday, Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said the government would issue a joint ministerial decree this month to regulate company operating hours.

Marshall Islands: Marshall Islands declares 'economic emergency' over energy crisis

The tiny western Pacific island nation of the Marshall Islands has declared a state of economic emergency as soaring fuel prices threaten to shut down electricity supplies.

Failure to resolve the fuel crisis could lead to a "disaster of unimaginable magnitude," President Litokwa Tomeing said in a statement late Thursday.

"Accordingly, I Litokwa Tomeing, on behalf of the cabinet of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, hereby issue this public proclamation declaring a state of economic emergency," he said in the statement, which was broadcast nationally.

Nigeria: PHCN Announces Nationwide Load Shedding

The Management of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has announced a 12-hourly zonal power rotational rationing from 6am – 6pm and 6pm – 6am nationwide.

Nigeria: Nationwide blackout: PHCN begins power rationing today

As the parlous state of power supply across the country worsened in the last few days, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria announced on Thursday that it will from Friday, (today) begin zonal power rationing.

In a statement Thursday night, the utility company said the rationing will be done nationwide on a 12-hourly basis.

Pakistan: Unscheduled load shedding continues in city despite minister’s order

Unscheduled load shedding remained high in the city on Thursday, despite orders by Water and Power Minister Pervez Ashraf to the contrary.

A few days ago Ashraf ordered Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) and all other power distribution companies to avoid unscheduled load shedding. Electricity, however, remained suspended in many areas of the city including Model Town, Township, Johar Town, Faisal Town, Mughalpura, Harbanspura, Garden Town, Iqbal Town, Ghaziabad and Muslim Town.

South Africa: Generation of electricity stagnates

ELECTRICITY generation has stagnated in the year to May, sparking concern that SA may yet again face load-shedding, placing further pressure on an already constrained economy.

In addition, use has not decreased substantially, despite the government’s entreaties to shed at least 10% of use or face further load-shedding.

Vietnam: Vietnam calls for power plant loans amid electricity shortage

The Vietnamese government has urged domestic banks to provide loans for the country's energy industry to continue construction of electricity plants amid power shortages, local media said Friday.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai told four major banks at a meeting Thursday to continue implementing credit agreements they signed with the Electricity Group of Vietnam (EVN), the government said on its website.