S.Africa confident about blackout-free World Cup

By Agnieszka Flak

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - FIFA and power utility Eskom are confident South Africa will be able to host a blackout-free World Cup next year although concerns about the country's strained electricity supply persist.

Eskom has struggled to meet rising power demand in Africa's biggest economy since early last year when the grid nearly collapsed, owing to a lack of investment in new generation capacity, but said it would not fail next year.

"Our intention is to make sure that the lights stay on ... at this point in time we are confident that we will be able to meet the country's requirements," Sanjay Bhana, Eskom's 2010 project manager, said in a South African National Energy Association (SANEA) lecture in Johannesburg this week.

Bhana said the utility estimates South Africa's demand in 2010 to peak at just short of 38,000 MW, up from a peak demand of less than 36,000 MW so far this year. About 450,000 visitors are expected to attend the tournament.

He said the current capacity, including all emergency supply in the form of diesel generators, was adequate to cover that.

Another Eskom official said that despite the utility's already strained balance sheet, it could run the generators "for weeks" to boost supply if needed.

Demand in the country has dropped significantly as smelters and other industry shut down parts of their operations given the global financial crisis, but has already risen back to the highs seen last year as industry resumes production.

The World Cup will be held during South Africa's winter, its most power-intensive season, but analysts do not expect the event to strain the system, with limited additional demand seen.