Load shedding mystery: Less blackouts no thanks to Eskom

Is our minister of energy doing a good job or is there some other reason behind the lower stages of load shedding we’ve had recently?

Cynically, we would have originally thought that our electricity would only make a Lazarus-like comeback next year, in time for the ANC to portray itself as the saviour of the country ahead of the election.

Load shedding in the middle of winter has so far – touch wood, or should that be, light wood? – been far less severe than even Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa himself predicted just a few months ago, when it seemed we might hit stage 8 in peak demand periods.

The possible reason that Eskom is looking good is, according to an energy analyst, at least partly because of factors beyond its control.

Included in those is the reality that so many people and companies have been moving to alternative power sources – solar primary among them.

While this migration may have been, in most cases, to help keep houses and businesses functioning during the blackouts, alternative power is a way of significantly reducing overall energy costs, whether there is load shedding or not.

The downside is that the less money Eskom makes, the higher its future price hikes will be.