In Face Of Growing Power Shortage, Namibia Freezes All Big Industrial Projects - Times

Namibia has become the latest southern African country to freeze all major investment projects due to an energy crisis that threatens to overshadow the region’s growing FDI prospects.

The mining industry will be among the sectors worst hit, with Namibia’s state electricity utility NamPower placing a moratorium on all new mines, saying they would have to wait until at least 2009 to get power. NamPower has also been forced to resort to load shedding and time-of-use tariffs for electricity usage at peak times as it grapples with the energy shortage across the southern African region.

Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe this week reported power outages caused by aging infrastructure and growing demand. The situation has been exacerbated by South African energy utility Eskom’s announcement that it would be forced to stop exporting electricity to neighbouring countries as South Africa’s own energy crisis deepened.

Eskom has also asked the government to shelve any new big industrial projects at least until 2013, when the current electricity shortage should have eased. The utility wants both foreign and local projects requiring 1,000MW or more to be held back, but said projects already under way would go ahead.

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