Eskom, South Africa’s beleaguered power utility, said on Thursday it would “buy back” power from industrial customers to improve a shortage that is projected to damage growth in Africa’s most advanced industrial economy for the next five years.

Aluminium prices had jumped to a seven-month high after earlier press reports that Eskom was considering a “complete power supply buyback” from aluminium smelters and planning to effectively shut them down for the remainder of 2008.