With no end in sight to the rolling blackouts, some South Africans stocked up on lights, generators and gas heaters as the biting cold at the weekend sent a chilling warning of the winter days ahead.
Power utility Eskom, which has been struggling to keep the lights on, escalated load-shedding to stage 4 in the midst of a cold front, leaving consumers in despair and bitterly numb.
Eskom said it instituted stage 4 load-shedding after the loss of two units at Hendrina power station and one at Lethabo in the Vaal. The truth is even if these power stations did not break down, Eskom does not have enough electricity to keep the lights on, especially when demand increases significantly during winter periods.
But this much was also known as far back as 2007, when Medupi and Kusile power stations were commissioned and hailed as mega projects that would change the energy landscape in SA. The power plants were meant to be completed in 2015 and now their completion has been moved to 2025 at a hefty cost to the taxpayer. The power stations have never fully been brought to service to meet the bourgeoning demand for electricity.
Ironically, on the same biting cold weekend, we learnt that Eskom needed almost R600m to rectify design defects at the R135bn Medupi power station. The news would have left a bitter taste in the mouth of every South African plunged into darkness and wondering when this disaster will ever end.
More than enough blame has gone around since the power crisis surfaced more than a decade ago, with ANC politicians refusing to take responsibility for the mess they created at Eskom. We are now all paying a heavy price for that.
The rolling blackouts are threatening everything, from small businesses to jobs, health and water supplies as well as deliveries of essential goods. In fact, the power crisis is getting to a point where even lives have been placed at risk. But does anyone really care? Perhaps those in the government and at the helm of Eskom do but not enough to declare this officially a state of disaster. Poor South Africans who are the victims of the crisis will endure a bitter winter in the dark again while the perpetrators stock up on gas heaters to keep their homes warm.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.