Private power to beat Eskom supply

We’ve said this before, but it is worth repeating: the debate about South Africa becoming a failed state is over.

It has already failed – because it cannot deliver services. The biggest example is Eskom, where just over 50% of the installed capacity of the electricity is available on most days… that’s why we have been lumbered with load shedding.

The good news – for consumers, at least – is that in as short a period as two years, the majority of available electricity in this country will come from the private sector.

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According to projections by Rand Merchant Bank/ Morgan Stanley, revealed by Anchor Capital’s Peter Armitage in a recent webinar, by 2025, Eskom will produce 25.17GW, while “other supply” – which ranges from imports to independent power producers, to roof-top solar – will account for 26.82GW.

That is a clear sign that, when the going gets tough (in other words, when your government continues to fail at its basic job), then the tough (long-suffering South African companies and long-suffering South African citizens) get going.

That’s the positive. The negative is that, with far less revenue, Eskom is going to have to hike its prices. Still, to crib Bob Marley, none but ourselves can look after ourselves.

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