Can South Africa become independent of Eskom?

The trend of getting off the grid is gathering pace, but total independence is still some way off, says Hartmut Winkler, professor of physics at the University of Johannesburg.

- Hartmut Winkler

South Africans have been battered by power shortages for several years. These have worsened to the point where, towards the end of 2022, only half of Eskom’s power-generation capacity was operational.

This has forced the power utility to escalate its rotational power cuts. By mid-January 2023, users were going without electricity for eight to 10 hours a day. The situation is unlikely to improve much in the short to medium term. It’s expected that this year, especially as power demand increases in winter, the country’s electricity supply will decline to the point where power may sometimes only be available for 12 hours a day.

The situation isn’t expected to improve in the medium to long term, either. The national utility is in a precarious financial situation.

The result is that South Africans are increasingly being forced to explore alternative sources of electricity. From big companies down to small households, entities are even considering whether it is possible to disconnect from the Eskom grid entirely and produce all their electricity in-house.

FAST FACTS

In the 1990s, Eskom's power was cheap, and the utility had the capacity to supply South Africa.

Frequent power cuts over the past several years have been combined with skyrocketing electricity tariffs.

Diesel generators, biogas and solar panels are some of the alternative power options available; each has its pros and cons.