A candle for Eskom’s naughty boy

This year we are celebrating a very special 12th birthday. Yes, incredulously it has been 12 years since we were introduced to load shedding. It started in November 2007, taking the country by storm.

By December 2007, then president Thabo Mbeki formally apologised to the country and its international partners, admitting that the electrification drive started at the dawn of democracy, did not fully take into account Eskom’s limited generation capacity.

Through his toddler years, load shedding behaved exceptionally well, but when he turned seven in 2014, he was a force to be reckoned with again.

Due to overdue maintenance, the national grid came under severe pressure and load shedding was unleashed again.

This time round the official apology centred around the depletion of coal stockpiles.

In 2015, the country experienced 99 days of load shedding.

And in 2016, then president Jacob Zuma promised that load shedding was a thing of the past.

But he wasn’t dead. He was just in a coma. He emerged again in 2018 and, having now reached his teens, was naughtier than ever.

The official apology then had the trade unions NUM and Numsa up in arms, as it was suggested load shedding was the result of sabotage by striking workers.

The end of last year, load shedding was again fidgeting with the Eskom buttons and this time it was blamed on design flaws at the new power stations Medupi and Kusile.

A week before Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s budget speech in February this year, load shedding was a stage four nuisance. This went on until March.

On Saturday, Eskom announced it would stop load shedding.

It has really been a roller-coaster ride, and I’m sure every South African is looking forward to next year when your very special 13th birthday comes around.

Your first 12 years with us has really been challenging. I can’t wait to see you when you hit your sturm und drang years – and what the official explanation will be then.