Eskom to continue reducing power supplies to Botswana until 2012

Eskom cut its maximum supply to Botswana, the world's largest diamond-producing nation, by 40 percent to 250 megawatts in the past two years, the Johannesburg-based utility said in an e-mailed reply to queries yesterday. "The current agreement will continue to decline in capacity until end of 2012 when it expires."

Funding constraints have delayed Eskom's 485 billion-rand ($69 billion) capacity-expansion programme aimed at preventing repeats of shortages that temporarily shut platinum and gold mines in South Africa in January 2008.