The Disaster That is Eskom

It’s no secret that the easiest way to irritate a South African business owner is to utter the words load-shedding. Rolling blackouts that last anywhere between 6 to 12 hours each day have been estimated to cost the economy anywhere between R204 to R899 million daily. With that in mind, the common question being asked is—what is going on?

What Exactly is Loadshedding?

There isn’t a South African who doesn’t know what load-shedding is. But, for our international readers’ sake, let’s clarify our current irritation. Load-shedding refers to the power cuts that Eskom has implemented to protect the power grid from total collapse as the coal-based plants around the country fail to meet the required demand.?

Eskom, in an attempt to prevent the predicted total collapse, has implemented these power cuts in several different stage cuts ranging between two and six, with a threat of eight on the cards. To date(February 2023), stage 6 has been implemented for a total of ten days in the first two months of 2023, according to Bloomberg.?

Stage 6 of course refers to blackouts two to three times a day, with homes and businesses being without power for a minimum of six hours a day. Considering the average small business trades for nine hours every day, the implications are quite devastating.?

What is Eskom Doing About the Problem?

According to the so-called experts at Eskom, the real cause of their inability to provide consistent power can be directly traced to an ageing fleet of generators. As of 2023, these generators are 45 years old and are running at a deficit that ranges between 4?000MW to 6?000MW.?

In addition to implementing continuous blackouts for an undetermined time, Eskom is also scheduled to start upgrades of various power lines. Furthermore, they’re striving to keep the six top generating units in service which will in turn keep load-shedding in the lower stages. With an unreliable and unpredictable system, there isn’t much faith in this endeavour.?

Eskom has also said there is a potential 9?200 MW of embedded generation projects currently in the pipeline. If this is true, these types of projects can significantly impact the amount of power that’s fed into the grid by the end of the year. This in turn will increase the power supply situation and minimise the need for continued blackouts.?

Despite Eskom’s promises of the situation getting better in a year or even two, South Africans aren’t optimistic. This is largely because of the scheduled maintenance plans that still don’t seem to be happening. With a lack of maintenance and an inability to buy feedstocks and diesel, the problem really doesn’t seem to be getting any less dire.

What’s the Issue with the Diesel?

It’s estimated that Eskom burns an average of 10 billion litres of diesel per day. That equates to about R20 billion rand to be spent on diesel alone in 2023. This is a tall feat for the cash-strapped entity that currently can’t afford the diesel required to keep its generators running. Many people are asking—how will they get this right if they currently can’t even afford the scheduled maintenance to keep the grid running.

What Can be Expected in Winter 2023?

Eskom is planning to scale down its scheduled maintenance to keep up with the higher power demand in the colder months. While this might reduce load-shedding, it most certainly won’t completely eliminate the need for it. If any previous winters are anything to go by, many South Africans aren’t very hopeful of a load-shedding-free winter.

What About the Proposed State of Disaster?

The latest government strategy meeting held at the end of January revealed that the governing party was strongly inclined to declare a state of disaster. Doing this would hopefully mean that the regulations required to aid Eskom would be fast-tracked. Would this alleviate the current Eskom catastrophe? Only time will tell, although many aren’t as optimistic as the ruling party.?

Where Does This Leave Everyone Else?

Load-shedding is fast becoming a part of daily life in South Africa. With this, small business owners are forced to seek an alternative power supply if they have any hope of keeping the power on long enough to sustain their businesses.?

Solar power is becoming everyone’s next go-to-power option. In addition to being renewable, solar energy is also scalable. That means it can be used in everything from a small household to a large business, making it the ideal option for small to medium business enterprises.?

Conclusion

As of February 2023, South Africa reached 100 days of consecutive load-shedding. This is not a record to be proud of! Blackouts are likely to carry on for the next two years at the very minimum, which isn’t very positive news for home and business owners alike.?