Inside a South African Coal Power Station

South Africa’s deepening energy crisis looks set to persist for at least two more years, with operational problems at the monolithic state power utility showing no signs of abating and plans to add new generation capacity ensnared in legal wrangling and red tape. 

The meltdown at Eskom, which supplies more than 90% of the nation’s electricity, is a legacy of chronic mismanagement and rampant corruption during former President Jacob Zuma’s tenure along with a failure to adequately maintain plants and invest in new ones. Andre de Ruyter, who took over as chief executive officer in January 2020, has fallen short on a pledge to ease rolling blackouts, with the rot permeating far deeper than he initially anticipated. 

Record outages this year have undermined efforts to revive the coronavirus-battered economy and President Cyril Ramaphosa has said they partly contributed to the ruling African National Congress’s worst-ever electoral showing in this month’s municipal vote. 

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