South Africa Hits Worst Ever Electricity Crisis

In a country like Nigeria, 10-hour power outages are quite common and citizens have adapted to alternative sources of energy. However, in a country like South Africa, which boasts the highest electricity production capacity in Africa, 10-hour blackouts pose a grim situation for the economy. 

The electricity crisis, which began in 2007, has reached a new peak, as various city governments in South Africa are now resorting to private suppliers to maintain the provision of electricity in their cities. 

Earlier in February, the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa declared a ‘state of disaster’ over the power crisis in South Africa. According to the President, the power cuts posed an existential threat to the South African economy, and the country was in a crisis. 

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“The crisis has progressively evolved to affect every part of society. We must act to lessen the impact of the crisis on farmers, on small businesses, on our water infrastructure, and our transport network.” He noted in his State of the Nation Address. 

Currently, the state-run power company Eskom is enforcing the most severe rotational power outages on record, resulting in blackouts for households, disrupting manufacturing operations, and impacting businesses of all scales. It was reported by Reuters that the rolling blackouts by Eskom are leading to South Africans having to spend up to 10 hours daily without electricity. 

Eskom, burdened with debt, announced earlier this month that it could only meet 56.6% of the country’s total electricity demand for the 2022/23 fiscal year.

In Cape Town, the city’s executive director for energy, Kadri Nassiep announced plans to halve the power cuts for its residents by 2026. He noted that the city intends to secure as much as 500 MW from private power firms by 2026, to cater for about one-third of the city’s yearly electricity demands, which range between 1,500 to 1,800 MW. The city is also considering providing households with financial incentives to conserve electricity during times of high demand.

According to the mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, “Our idea is to make up the shortfall that Eskom is not able to provide so that we can get the economy growing here again, investors interested again, get jobs back,”

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Cape Town’s Kadri Nassiep stated that the city was working towards achieving complete energy self-sufficiency, independent of Eskom, by 2030 and beyond. Last year, the city launched a tender for a 200-MW solar energy project and anticipates issuing another one for up to 300 MW of battery storage in the coming weeks. The mayor also stated that the city intends to modify its energy policy to permit households and businesses generating solar power to sell any surplus to the city.

However, solar panels are expensive. They cost between 60,000 rands ($3,372) and 250,000 rands, and are typically installed by large corporations and affluent residents. 

Other cities like Johannesburg are considering alternative sources of power. In January, the former mayor of Johannesburg, Mpho Phalatse, announced that in November, City Power, the primary energy supplier for Johannesburg, invited private companies to submit proposals for a purchasing agreement lasting up to 36 months. She noted that the city wants to augment its power grid by 500 MW. 

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