By Shapi Shacinda
PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa will agree with mining companies and other power users this year on new measures to cut consumption of electricity from 2011, when supply is expected to be tight, a senior energy official said on Monday.
Nelisiwe Magubane, director general for the department of energy, said the government would introduce incentives for companies that reduce the use of power and penalties for those that fail.
Magubane said her department, state utility Eskom and industrial users were already negotiating plans to cut power usage but that it was too early to determine the amount of the cuts.
"We are still negotiating with mining companies whether to reduce power by 7 or 10 percent," she told journalists.
Magubane spoke at an integrated resource plan (IRP) 2010 power conference, which is intended to produce a proposed plan on power generation comprising mainly nuclear and gas, coal, solar and coal-fired plants.
"By the end of the year, a mechanism must be in place ... all incentives and penalties must be worked out," Magubane later told Reuters.
