In March this year, Eskom will be toasting its 100th anniversary – but frustrated South Africans will not be in any mood to celebrate with the power utility.
100 years of Eskom
If any South African wanted to check Eskom’s website for an update on load shedding, they would come across a countdown to the centenary.
Digging a little further, they will be directed to Eskom’s heritage site. Here, the power utility is headlining its celebration with the slogan “empowering the future together”. There is no apparent irony in this slogan.
Stage 6 load shedding
At the time of publishing, Eskom has implemented stage 6 load shedding for six consecutive days. In 2023 so far, South Africa has experienced stage 6 load shedding more than any other stages.
Under stage 6, citizens can expect to be without electricity for up to 11-and-a-half-hours a day.
Not only do South Africans have to battle exacerbated traffic jams with traffic lights not working, they also struggle to prepare meals for their families. Perhaps even worse, factories have to stop operating and small businesses are struggling to stay afloat.
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As South Africans struggle to adapt to life with no power, Eskom has listed its achievements over the past 100 years.
These include:
- Rapidly building power plants as gold mining boomed in the country.
- Creating an interconnected network.
- Building Africa’s only nuclear power plant, Koeberg.
- Expanding its operations in the 1980s to work towards providing electricity to all South Africans.
World’s best
By the end of the 20th century, Eskom was lauded across the world and, in 2001, was named the world’s best power company.
Things fall apart
Since then, however, things have drastically fallen apart. Eskom’s plea for government to help it expand its operations to meet increasing demand was not heeded. Rampant corruption, a lack of maintenance and a loss of skilled employees has seen the power utility sink even deeper into the mire.
ALSO READ: Is Eskom really doing more maintenance under De Ruyter?
Load shedding officially started in 2008. Very little seems to have been done since then to change the fortunes of the ailing parastatal.
Although Eskom does acknowledge this as it prepares to celebrate its 100th year, it suggests that it only battled to supply power between 2003 and 2012. “The problems have been identified and a clear plan and vision have been crafted going forward,” it says.
On the streets of South Africa there is very little evidence of this.
