Blackout : The Eskom Crisis

A blow-by-blow account into the degeneration of Eskom from global energy power-house to dysfunctional monolith. In 1998 the government was warned that the country was running out of electricity. Yet the decision was taken not to invest in new power stations. In 2007, as predicted, South Africa ran out of electricity. Eight years later the crisis has deepened, and despite assurances by government, this has the potential to become the biggest post-apartheid crisis in South Africa. By 2015 load shedding cost the economy an estimated R2 billion per day. Is the situation getting better or worse? Are the interventions working or is a blackout inevitable? What can be done and what do future scenarios look like? Blackout: The Eskom Crisis gives compelling insight into each aspect of the energy crisis – from load shedding to leadership, policy to politics to nuclear versus renewable energy – and unpacks the debates raging in households across South Africa today.