South Africa reached 200 days without electricity in 2022 on Tuesday, Dec. 27, and that number is bound to escalate.

Expected Blackout Routine

According to Bloomberg's report, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. has said that starting at 4 PM local time on Monday and lasting until 5 AM Friday. It would increase power outages from stage-1 load shedding, eliminating 1,000 megawatts from the grid to stage-3 load shedding. 

The utility announced that it would reduce output by 2,000 megawatts from 5:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Wednesday, Dec. 28.

Due to the constant breakdown of its aging and badly maintained power facilities, Eskom has enforced unprecedented levels of rotating blackouts this year.

Economic Struggle

Investment has been hampered, and production has suffered as a result of the energy crisis.

In an email answer to Bloomberg's queries, Sygnia Ltd. Executive Chair Magda Wierzycka stated, "The fluctuations in the supply of electricity have profound implications for the economy and could be viewed as the biggest risk to growth and through that the future of South Africa."

Because of power disruptions, the South African Reserve Bank predicted last month that its gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the fourth quarter would be a meager 0.1%. 

There is an assumption that increasing power rationing would reduce production by 0.6% points, resulting in a slowing of economic growth from 1.8% this year to 1.1% in 2023.

Sygnia's Wierzycka said that now that Andre de Ruyter has resigned as CEO of Eskom, South Africa may choose a qualified candidate who would also have the necessary political backing. 

She acknowledges that finding the right person will be difficult, but the government cannot make that mistake again.

Although Eskom is responsible for supplying most of South Africa's electrical needs, the company cannot pay its own way due to a lack of income.

On Friday, the company's departing CEO expressed concern that blackouts would persist unless an extra 4,000-6,000 megawatts of generating capacity was added to the system in the next year.

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Amid Holiday Season

Eskom has struggled to satisfy South Africa's electrical demand for more than a decade, but the situation has gotten serious this year.

Eskom stated this week that failures at eight producing units triggered Stage 6 power disruptions during the holidays. This is unexpected since factories and mines cease operations over the holidays, reducing power use.

In an ABC News article, many customers at Sandton City mall in Johannesburg monitored the clock so they could cook while they had power.

"We have to look at the schedule ... and then we can do everything that needs to be cooked. Or we use a gas stove," Molalo Mishapo told ABC News, who was optimistic about setting the table outdoors with candles.

Natasha Singh, visiting Johannesburg from Durban, is lucky because her accommodation has generators.

Cindy Naidoo said it is vital to celebrate being healthy after the COVID-19 pandemic despite increasing costs and power outages in 2022.

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