Load Shedding - South Africa In A Crisis
Load shedding is a term founded in South Africa 13 years ago based on the fact they don't have enough electricity for the country. Everyone takes a turn in having a blackout so that is how they make it through certain periods of the year. Winter the consumption goes up as more power is required due to more demand.
In January 2008 Eskom controversially introduced "load shedding", planned rolling blackouts based on a rotating schedule, in periods where short supply threatens the integrity of the grid.
What hope does a country have if they haven't fixed a serious problem they encountered over 13 years ago?
Over the last few days we have had so much interference with our power supply in South Africa it is hard to plan anything. This morning I arrived at work to find no power thinking at worst it will be 4 hours only as that is the norm here. The power had been switched off at 6am so 10 am would be it but no it came back on just after midday. For most businesses this is a lost day whilst still paying salaries and is not something anyone wants to see. Especially considering as so many businesses are still in recovery mode after 15 months of lock downs.
source Tomorrow it is only meant to be a two and a half hour inconvenience but who knows what it will be in reality as they rarely stick to a timetable.
The Electricity utility supplier Eskom wants to raise their tariffs by 15% which is insane considering how expensive electricity already is. I was going to install solar at the house but there is little point as firstly where will you be living in 5 years time? Will I be in SA and that is a most definite no. There is no future here as the country is turning into being like every other country in Africa.
source The last government was dead against anyone using solar power or alternative power as they saw it as lost revenue. They even went as far as saying they would heavily tax generators and solar panels plus impose a special tax for anyone using them. I read an article today showing they have done a complete u turn on this and have now openly asked for help from alternative energy suppliers.
The only perk is you get to see the stars during blackouts with no city lights interfering.
The truth is they are not producing enough electricity to meet the demand and this should have been addressed by the Zuma government. Those cronies were only interested in stealing and over the 8 years in power systematically emptied the country's reserves leaving it broke. Ramaphosa is in power these days, but is still fighting corruption amongst his own ministers and trying to improve things will take decades.
The sad truth is a terminology made up 13 years ago is actually part of everyone's vocab in South Africa and everyone fully understands it's meaning.
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