Power to SA mines 'not at risk'

Looming tariff increases have sparked political protests

The South African government has promised that its lucrative mining sector will not suffer further power disruption during the winter months.

The country's mines, some of the biggest in the world, are operating on 95% supply as South Africa battles an electricity crisis.

This has helped to lift gold and platinum prices, which have been on a record-breaking run recently.

The blackouts forced most of the mines to shut for five days in January.

South Africa's Public Enterprise Minister Alec Erwin said: "We would not attempt to claw back anything from the mines.

"We'd like to keep them at production levels that are as high as possible," he added.

Fragile grid

The electricity shortages have been blamed on rising demand and lack of foresight from the government and state electricity supplier Eskom.

After years of underinvestment in South Africa's crumbling power infrastructure, Eskom is now demanding that consumers and industry cut usage by 10%.

It is also seeking a 53% tariff increase from the National Electricity Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to help fund a 343bn rand (£22bn) programme to increase its generating capacity in the next five years.

It has already received government approval for a 14.2% price increase for 2008/9.

There is much controversy over the crisis, with Eskom facing accusations that it is running down coal stocks deliberately, to boost profits and bonuses for its executives, rather than, as it suggests, because of the wet summer.