Why South Africa Is Mired in an Electricity Crisis: QuickTake

South Africa has been dogged since 2008 by rolling blackouts that have grown steadily worse despite repeated government pledges to end them. The country’s old and poorly maintained power stations run by state utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. can’t keep up with demand, and plans to buy more electricity from private producers have been delayed by grid constraints and court action. With the governing party in danger of losing its majority in May 29 elections, President Cyril Ramaphosa last year appointed Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as electricity minister to spearhead the response to the crisis. In December, Dan Marokane was named the utility’s new chief executive, the 15th person to be appointed to the position since 2007. The power cuts have eased in the run-up to the vote, but there’s still a long way to go in turning Eskom around.

A history of deep financial losses and poor planning, plus allegations of mismanagement and corruption, have plagued the utility. It experienced management upheaval during former President Jacob Zuma’s nine-year rule, and a judicial commission found there was an orchestrated attempt by his allies to raid its coffers with his tacit consent. Zuma denied wrongdoing. Eskom’s leaders have said the company hasn’t been permitted to charge adequate prices to meet its costs. A book written by Andre de Ruyter, who exited as CEO in February 2023, described how politicians and Eskom’s new board continued to undermine its management. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, who oversees Eskom, denied those allegations.