The minister told Mmegi yesterday that the blackout was not a result of load-shedding but was due to technical problems in the grid originating from South Africa. He said a breakdown at Matimbe Power Station in South Africa caused two turbine engines at Morupule Power Station in Palapye to trip leading to the widespread and lengthy blackout in Botswana. Though he has been touring the country with President Ian Khama, Kedikilwe said that he was informed that engineers were attending to the problem. "It was a normal breakdown and last time I communicated with my staff, they assured me that the problem was being attended to. It was a minor problem," he said.
Since the beginning of power rationing at the end of 2008, local businesses have purchased generators as an emergency measure. A number of businessmen contacted for comment said they have not experienced any problems during blackouts because of generators. At Shoprite Supermarket in Gaborone an unidentified staff member said the standby generators did the magic. At President Hotel another staff member said they did not experience any power problems.
