What's with electricity in SA?

I heard that there is gonna be a ration with electricity in SA... or is it happening already? Why did it come to that.... true that ppl are only gonna be limited to 4 hours a day??

"Fellow SA in NZ"

A brief history of the energy crisis:

Apparently, the minister of minerals and energy submitted a white paper to parliament 10 years ago, saying that if we didn't build more power stations, there'd be an energy crisis by 2007. For some reason, nobody did anything about this. There are various theories about why this is: some people say there were bonuses for Eskom officials if they saved money; others say there was a shortage of engineers to implement it. Some blame BEE for the shortage, but it seems we're short of engineers of all colours. Some say people thought there was going to be a recession because of the change in power, and so they didn't believe the figures. There are a lot of white papers submitted, and it may be that parliament simply forgot about it.

Anyway, there wasn't a recession. There was a lot of economic growth, which needed more power. The result is that SA needs slightly more power than can be supplied by Eskom currently - and it's only going to get worse for the next 5 years, which is how long it takes to build a power station. If demand goes much higher than supply, our power stations will melt down or something. So Eskom introduced 'load-shedding' (basically, blackouts in different areas at different times, for 2-3 hours at a time). So far, this has been badly managed: some areas get cuts 3 times a day, other areas don't get cuts at all. And although Eskom puts up load-shedding schedules on the internet, they bear no relation to the actual times the power goes off, so it's hard for industries or households to plan.

It's true that the government is thinking of electricity rationing. But it's not true that people will be limited to 4 hours a day: it makes much more sense to ration it by kilowatt-hours. They're talking more along the lines of timer switches for geysers, and energy saving lightbulbs. Plus, they're introducing a subsidy for solar water heaters, and putting in solar traffic lights (traffic has been nightmarish). Solar power is expensive, but those who can afford it are trying to get backup panels. Shopping centres are getting generators, but they're too noisy to use for individual homes.

Poor people, meanwhile, have had power cuts all along and wonder what all the fuss is about.

So bad news travel fast. Joking. No there is a hopefully temporary problem. Eskom needs to put its house in order. Otherwise when you come back there will be light.

Thats me being optimistic.

well S.A. is going down the drain....have you seen the rand tumbling right down...also against all currencies...be prepared for more trouble...

Working Gal has given you the background and it is true that some areas do not have electricity for upto 6 hours a day. The 'load shedding' has started already and many business in South Africa are suffering and risk closing down. It is sad and this all could have been prevented if the Government only listened. The loss of skill in Escom is also one of the biggest reasons for the continuous problems and I guess, this will continue for as long as we have BEE and affirmative action.

Yes its true.
The is not enough electricity.
We never build enough power stations.

Blue Bull
So you recon that if the was no BEE & AA the would be enough electricity without building new power stations?
He! he! he!
Maybe Bull was right white people are Gods for real.
He! he! he!

THESE are the people to blame for plunging South Africa into darkness.
0 Thabo Mbeki 鈥?Ignored an Eskom warning in 1998 that there would be a power crisis by 2007.
0 Alec Erwin 鈥?Told Parliament in 2006 that there was no national energy crisis.
0 Phumzile Mlambo- Ngcuka 鈥?Failed to tackle crisis as Energy Minister and then as Deputy President.
0 Jacob Maroga 鈥?Joined Eskom in 1995 and failed to act or raise alarm when made CEO last year.
0 Thulani Gcabashe 鈥?Former Eskom CEO knew for 10 years about looming crisis but failed to tell the public.