February 4, 2015.
For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Natalie Greve.
Making headlines:

Eskom implements stage one power cuts.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomes the recent deployment of an Electoral Advisory Council to Lesotho.

And, Moody’s says a material improvement in Eskom's financial profile is not expected before new generation capacity comes on stream.

Power utility Eskom said stage one power cuts had been implemented on Wednesday morning,.

Spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said there was a high demand for power, adding that the risk of blackouts was high for the rest of the week.

Meanwhile, Johannesburg City Power spokesperson Sol Masolo said Eskom alerted it just after 8am to implement the blackouts.

Deputy President and Southern African Development Community (or SADC) facilitator, Cyril Ramaphosa, has welcomed the recent deployment of an Electoral Advisory Council to Maseru, Lesotho, as part of preparations for the forthcoming elections.

Ramaphosa said the arrival of the SADC Electoral Advisory Council would “add impetus to current preparations and efforts by the Lesotho Electoral Commission to deliver credible, free and fair elections in which the people of Lesotho could express their democratic will as part of efforts to restore peace and stability in that country.

The neighbouring mountain kingdom goes to the polls on February 28.

The decision to hold early elections arose from decisions by a summit of the SADC held last year with a view to help return Lesotho to political normalcy, as well as stabilisation of the security situation following an abortive coup in August.

Moody's Investors Service said a material improvement in Eskom's financial profile wasn’t expected before new generation capacity comes on stream.

The agency’s vice president senior analyst Paul Marty cited weak operational performance combined with insufficient tariffs and a large capital expenditure programme that continues to weigh on the parastal’s financial profile.

He said without a substantial increase in tariffs beyond what has already been planned for the remainder of MYPD3, Moody’s does not anticipate a material improvement in power utility’s financial profile before new generation capacity comes on stream.

The agency expected Eskom's credit metrics to remain very weak in the next 12 to 18 months.

Also making headlines:

While almost $2.9-billion was pledged by the end of 2014 in donations to fight West Africa's Ebola epidemic, only around 40% had actually reached affected countries.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned South Sudan to put the interests of its people first if lasting peace was to be achieved in the world's newest country.

The EU said Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe may be allowed in to the European Union to attend high-level meetings in his new role as chairperson of the African Union, despite a long-standing travel ban.

And, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe has called on South Africans to share what they would like President Jacob Zuma to talk about during the State of the Nation Address this year.

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That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.