Tag: Eskom

With South Africa experiencing its worst year of load shedding to date, we’re seeing a surge in demand for alternative power solutions from homeowners and businesses alike. Solar is emerging as a popular option, enabling people to reduce their reliance on Eskom at a time the utility is asking the regulator to approve a 32% increase in power tariffs.

The electricity crisis in South Africa is self-inflicted. This has become clear from the many costly disruptions in electricity supply over too long a period. There is something fundamentally amiss with government policy in this area. At the centre of the problem is Eskom, the leviathan which enjoys monopolistic protection shielded from potential competition.

With South Africans learning to live with the current cycle of stage 6 load shedding, many believe the ongoing power cuts to be the antagonist behind the weak Rand. However, according to treasury experts, load shedding is merely a small contributor to a far greater picture.  

Based on exclusive interviews with De Ruyter, Oberholzer and other key figures, Sabotage: Eskom under Siege is a story of conspiracy and subterfuge at South Africa’s ailing power utility, uncovering the power struggles that threaten the country’s very survival.

Although Eskom and government provide support for large renewable energy projects designed to bridge the power gap on a number of levels, there is still an important piece missing from these initiatives.

After three years of public hearings and with a price tag of over a billion Rand, Justice R.M.M. Zondo, the Acting Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa, handed the fourth part of the report on state capture and corruption during the presidency of Jacob Zuma, to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The 2022 Budget was tabled to Parliament on 23 February 2022 by South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.

The State Capture Report released by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo is a scathing account of collusion between the State and politically connected cronies. The Inquiry took almost four years and cost nearly R1 billion to complete; uncovering the reasons why State-owned entities are performing abysmally with corruption playing a central role in the decay.

South Africa's energy landscape is currently challenged by load shedding and ageing coal-fired power stations. Looking through this crisis, we see some opportunities that the market can capitalise on. In the broadest sense, the country now has a chance to leapfrog from the coal era into the new energy technologies of the 21st century.

Load shedding is a reality that every South African business needs to manage. The good news is that there are a wide range of affordable backup solutions on the market that can help your business to stay productive when the lights go out.