BPC seals fresh power deal with SA

On Wednesday, Eskom spokesperson Hilary Joffe told BusinessWeek the 100 megawatts (MW) was on a firm basis, while another 200 MW would be made available on a non-firm basis between January 1, 2013 and July 31, 2013."Eskom supplies on a non-firm basis, which implies that when South Africa experiences serious supply constraints the capacity made available to BPC can be temporarily curtailed," Joffe said in explaining the non-firm section of the new deal.

"This type of agreement is essential given the prevailing tight supply-demand balance in South Africa, in order to protect the electricity system's integrity." While local Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources officials were not readily available for comment, the Eskom spokesperson confirmed that a new agreement had been concluded.