Saturday, February 7, 2015

South Africa the Power Giant of Eskom

South Africa the Power Giant of Eskom
South Africa

Eskom the power giant, of South Africa remains under endless strain to supply electricity to the country. The woes of Eskom have not decreased but rather substantially increased over the past years. Eskom is a state-owned facility under the African National Congress (ANC) government, and maladministration is the fundamental reason for the disaster.

Over the past twenty years, squatter camps or illegal dwellings have sprung up around South Africa. These shacks are built on poor infrastructure with no connection to electricity. The overcrowded shacks connect to a nearby Eskom sub-station using a cable, by that generating power without any cost. Eskom has failed to control the illegal use of power from squatter camps, and government does not attempt to curb the problem. The illegal connections are not only dangerous but cost the power giant a loss of revenue and millions of unaccounted units of electricity. Eskom cannot implement plans when the illegal connections are not taken into account.

Eskom does not generate enough power to supply South Africa, yet exports electricity to neighboring countries. Botswana receives more than one-third of its electricity from South Africa. Andrew Etzinger, the spokesperson for Eskom, said that Botswana would have virtually no electricity if Eskom did not supply and that it would create substantial harm to the country’s economy. Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho and Zimbabwe receive power from South Africa.

Exporting electricity to neighboring countries does contribute to South Africa’s GDP yet causes local business to close due to non-operation caused by lack of power supply. In turn, this contributes to the high unemployment levels, crime and corruption.

The South African government managed to organize and keep the lights on for the 2010 world cup yet remain incapable of bringing two power stations online. Both Kusile and Medupi power plants are four years behind schedule, and there is no indication of when these new facilities will be completed.

Published on the Guardian LV - read the entire article

Read more at  http://guardianlv.com/2015/02/south-africa-the-power-giant-of-e
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