The South African currency has enjoyed a boost as the country has gone 150 consecutive days without any power outages.
The state power utility Eskom announced a boost in power supply at the weekend.
In reaction, the rand jumped to new levels after ending 2023 as one of the few emerging market currencies with losses versus the dollar.
The South African currency gained 3.7% in the year to date and trades at about R17.70/$.
This milestone marks a dramatic turnaround from over a year ago when South Africa was plagued by persistent and record load shedding (planned powercuts) that disrupted daily life, inflated food prices and eroded investor confidence.
“The recovery plan has not only made Eskom’s power stations more reliable but has also demonstrated enhanced efficiency,” the state-owned power utility said at the weekend.
The turnaround began with the appointment of Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as the country’s first-ever electricity minister in March 2023, a role created in response to the escalating energy crisis.
Alongside this, the government injected about R250-billion (N23-trillion) into Eskom to stabilise the utility as well as appointing Dan Marokane as its permanent CEO in December.
