No end in sight to Eskom power woes

ESKOM remains the greatest burden on the country’s fiscus and the greatest inhibiting factor to economic growth as its ongoing instability stifles investment in business.

Eskom’s inability to maintain infrastructure and cater for a growing population means that load shedding is inevitable and while many plans have been offered up, there is not one that offers confidence that a regular and uninterrupted supply of power will be a reality.

Dealing with Eskom’s unaffordable and unmanageable debt levels is a key priority for the power utility and the Department of Public Enterprises. So too is the need to clean up corruption with billions having been lost to this scourge.

Eskom also needs to expand its capability into the renewable energy space as it is far too reliant on fossil fuels, a finite resource that is definitely not a future solution. Here too there is a trust deficit between Eskom, trade unions and citizens with concerns being raised about the potential for corruption as South Africans become desperate for alternative energy sources.

For Eskom to run more efficiently, it must cut costs and find ways to negotiate with unions so that this can be done. The billions wasted on Kusile and Medupi power stations are a prime example of the wasteful expenditure that has taken place at the power utility. The restructuring of Eskom into three entities – generation, transmission and distribution – is crucial for its sustainability and this needs to move forward with speed.

South Africans too have their part to play and it is important to reduce consumption of energy to alleviate some of the burden on the utility. However, consumption is not the crucial problem at Eskom. Years of mismanagement, inefficiency and corruption have created a monster that impacts on growth, business development and the ability to attract investment.