South Africa is suffering an energy crisis. Just last month, the nation was plunged into darkness when about 40 percent of the power was “switched off” (Light-Bulb Moment). However, this blackout was not an accident. Rather, it was due to a nationwide system of load-shedding. Load-shedding, is the process of “managing [a] shortage [of power] by selectively cutting off towns and suburbs, and rotating the schedule to lessen or, rather, evenly spread the hardship” (Venage).
So, why does load-shedding occur? To understand the current issues, we have to determine its root causes. Eskom, a state-run energy company that holds a monopoly over 90% of Africa’s entire energy supply, instigated and coined the term load shedding. The company is struggling to produce sufficient power to sustain the electricity grid because currently 419 billion Rand, or 31 billion US dollars in debt (Cohen and Burkhardt). South Africa's power outages are the product of government corruption and overwhelming debt.
During Jacob Zuma’s presidential term from 2009 to 2018, he allegedly accepted bribes for “lucrative government contracts" from the Gupta Family, who are a notoriously wealthy Indian family. Essentially, Zuma embezzled funds from state institutions for personal gain (Why Mckinsey). Eskom, in turn, faced the consequences of Zuma’s corruption. Because money was taken from Eskom, the company was unable to afford to conduct regular maintenance checks. This lead to increased breakdowns decreased energy production, and ultimately an increased strain on the power grid (Crompton). While under ideal situations, Eskom should be able to produce about 47,000 megawatts of power, due to constant breakdowns output is almost half that amount (Cohen and Burkhardt). Essentially, Zuma’s corruption prevents Eskom from generating adequate energy for the population of South Africa. In response, Eskom resorted to load-shedding as a way to ease the stress on the power grid.
Furthermore, Eskom remains unable to repay debt caused by Zuma. Since wealthy South Africans are switching to invest in sustainable energy because which is believed to become cheaper than non-renewable coal, Eskom must raise the energy prices for the rest of the nation to garner a profit. However, the majority of South Africans cannot afford the soaring energy prices. Therefore, some South Africans either resort to stealing electricity or not paying their bills (Cohen and Burkhardt). This leaves Eskom stuck unable to recover its debts because of a “utility death spiral” (Crompton). In a bid to recoup their costs and alleviate stress on the system, in 2007, Eskom announced that it would begin building “the third and fourth largest coal power plants in the world.” However, poor management coupled with years of delays has cost the company hundreds of billions more (Gosling).
Eskom’s woes extend further than the electrical grid. In fact, "unreliable power" compromises the South Africa's economy because it slows the productivity of businesses and hinders small business creation due to the high costs of backup generators, which are necessary when blackouts occur (Venage). It is evident that this crisis is affecting both South Africans and South Africa as a whole. While there is much debate over the solutions to this issue, it is certain that South Africans will have to do without light if this crisis is not resolved.
So, why does load-shedding occur? To understand the current issues, we have to determine its root causes. Eskom, a state-run energy company that holds a monopoly over 90% of Africa’s entire energy supply, instigated and coined the term load shedding. The company is struggling to produce sufficient power to sustain the electricity grid because currently 419 billion Rand, or 31 billion US dollars in debt (Cohen and Burkhardt). South Africa's power outages are the product of government corruption and overwhelming debt.
During Jacob Zuma’s presidential term from 2009 to 2018, he allegedly accepted bribes for “lucrative government contracts" from the Gupta Family, who are a notoriously wealthy Indian family. Essentially, Zuma embezzled funds from state institutions for personal gain (Why Mckinsey). Eskom, in turn, faced the consequences of Zuma’s corruption. Because money was taken from Eskom, the company was unable to afford to conduct regular maintenance checks. This lead to increased breakdowns decreased energy production, and ultimately an increased strain on the power grid (Crompton). While under ideal situations, Eskom should be able to produce about 47,000 megawatts of power, due to constant breakdowns output is almost half that amount (Cohen and Burkhardt). Essentially, Zuma’s corruption prevents Eskom from generating adequate energy for the population of South Africa. In response, Eskom resorted to load-shedding as a way to ease the stress on the power grid.
Furthermore, Eskom remains unable to repay debt caused by Zuma. Since wealthy South Africans are switching to invest in sustainable energy because which is believed to become cheaper than non-renewable coal, Eskom must raise the energy prices for the rest of the nation to garner a profit. However, the majority of South Africans cannot afford the soaring energy prices. Therefore, some South Africans either resort to stealing electricity or not paying their bills (Cohen and Burkhardt). This leaves Eskom stuck unable to recover its debts because of a “utility death spiral” (Crompton). In a bid to recoup their costs and alleviate stress on the system, in 2007, Eskom announced that it would begin building “the third and fourth largest coal power plants in the world.” However, poor management coupled with years of delays has cost the company hundreds of billions more (Gosling).
Eskom’s woes extend further than the electrical grid. In fact, "unreliable power" compromises the South Africa's economy because it slows the productivity of businesses and hinders small business creation due to the high costs of backup generators, which are necessary when blackouts occur (Venage). It is evident that this crisis is affecting both South Africans and South Africa as a whole. While there is much debate over the solutions to this issue, it is certain that South Africans will have to do without light if this crisis is not resolved.
Cohen, Mike and Burkhardt, Paul. “Why South Africa Is Struggling to Keep the Lights
On.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 Feb. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com
/business/why-south-africa-is-struggling-to-keep-the-lights-on/2019/02/12/30dc82ea-
2ec6-11e9-8781-763619f12cb4_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.99e9d979da3.
/business/why-south-africa-is-struggling-to-keep-the-lights-on/2019/02/12/30dc82ea-
2ec6-11e9-8781-763619f12cb4_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.99e9d979da3.
Crompton, Rod. “Explained: Why Eskom Is in so Much Trouble.” IOL News, 13 Feb. 2019,
www.iol.co.za/news/opinion/explained-why-eskom-is-in-so-much-trouble-19238470.
Gosling, Melanie. “Eskom and the Multi-Billion Rand Mega Projects That Could Have Saved
SA.” Fin24, 13 Feb. 2019, www.fin24.com/Economy/eskom-and-the-multi -billion-rand-
mega-projects-that-could-have-saved-sa-20190213.
mega-projects-that-could-have-saved-sa-20190213.
"Light-bulb moment; South Africa." The Economist, 16 Feb. 2019, p. 13(US). Global Issues in
Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A574101635/GIC?u=los427 54&sid=
GIC&xid=47b24384. Accessed 13 Mar. 2019.\
GIC&xid=47b24384. Accessed 13 Mar. 2019.\
Venage, Gavin Du. “South Africans Left in the Dark as Blackouts Return.” The National, The
National, 21 Feb. 2019, www.thenational.ae/business/energy/south-africans-left- in-the
-dark-as-blackouts-return-1.828497.
-dark-as-blackouts-return-1.828497.
“Why McKinsey Is under Attack in South Africa.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper,
12 Oct. 2017, www.economist.com/business/2017/10/12/why-mckinsey -is-under-attack
-in-south-africa.
-in-south-africa.
I really liked how you were able to incorporate statistics within your points so that the reader could get a good idea as to the extent of the problem. One of the things I learned through reading this is that, just with many other problems in Africa, the current energy crisis has been a result of corruption within the government and monopolies held by companies. A question that I have is do you believe the solution will come from within South Africa itself or will other nations have to be involved?
ReplyDeleteI like how your evidence is really well-integrated into your article, and it's all very cohesive. My main takeaway is that increasing debt and corruption are causing problems in South Africa's electricity companies, leading to unreliable power. One question I have is how the effect of load-shedding differs depending on where it occurs.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you tied everything and brought things up again. It is really good. One of the things that I took away was the increase of debt that South Africa has. My question is how would other countries help South Africa with the debt and corruption?
ReplyDeleteI really liked how your article was clear and easy to follow. While it somewhat makes sense to rotate the blackouts, I was surprised to read that the amount of available energy is so low that this is necessary. My main take away is that due to government corruption, South Africa is not able to maximize its potential output of power, and because of the debts, Eskom has been reeling in a downwards spiral. I wonder if there is a way that we could give the excess electricity that the US produces from residential solar panels to South Africa. Though this wouldn't be enough to solve the problem, it could give them a boost in the right direction.
ReplyDelete