The state power company is battling a legacy of neglect, mismanagement and state capture
South Africa's state power company Eskom is battling a legacy of neglect, mismanagement and state capture as it struggles to bring an end to rolling blackouts that have severely damaged businesses and the economyProduced, filmed and edited by Joe Sinclair. Producers in South Africa, Monica Mark and Joseph Cotterill. Graphics by Russell Birkett. Additional filming by Nick AlexandraLet's start with the electricity crisis. 15 years into it we are still here.
The impact of load shedding on day-to-day life in South Africa is enormous. And that could be anything from traffic lights not working. You go to the shops and the card machines don't work. You can't make phone calls.The South African Reserve Bank cut GDP growth this year by two percentage points to 0.3 per cent. It said that load shedding would have a half-a-percentage-point increase on inflation, because businesses have to pass on the cost to consumers.
This is the point of sale, right, so when the electricity goes off, we can't use the system at all. I'm taking a photo and video to post on Instagram, so that people can get hungry and come and buy. We have to eradicate load shedding, and the only way of doing that is to ensure that generation exceeds demand, to ensure that we improve the performance of the existing fleet, which is ageing, but secondly, to introduce new generating capacity, largely from renewable sources of energy.
When Mandela was released from prison, people were so happy. We had that thing that South Africa has a bright future. From 1998, the ANC considered, but also procrastinated over making Eskom and South Africa's energy supply more competitive. At the same time there is a countervailing force within the ANC, which looked at state companies as Eskom, as primary drivers of the economy, and also the engines to create transformation to increase black ownership.
Maintenance at Eskom was neglected. Management turmoil at Eskom was increasing. And Eskom was also becoming extremely resistant to an initial boom in renewable energy outside its control. It's a bit like having heart problems. You'll have the build-up in the arteries a long time before you have the heart attack.Andre de Ruyter's time at Eskom is, in a way, a cautionary tale about the competing strands of the energy crisis.
Eskom is a mega company, so it has a mega footprint. It has mega budget. There were lots of ways to get sort of your tentacles in that pot of money. So this plant, Tutuka, once had been one of the top plants in Eskom. When I first visited I was taken aback at the state of the plant. It was clear that something was terribly wrong. So we appointed a person from the outside, a very brave man called Sello Mametja. And Sello went about dismantling the cartels that were operating into Tutuka. But then, the death threats started.
So corruption has had a debilitating effect on Eskom. But I really want to emphasise the critical mass of men and women at Eskom are committed to the resolution of this problem. And I make the point when I engage with them. The best way of redeeming ourselves is to ensure that we resolve the load shedding problem, and we out those who are responsible for acts of corruption.
I have four kids. They can't live here. It's is too dangerous. It's too toxic for a child to grow up in. Hence, I took them to the rural areas. The crime - it increases after the load shedding crisis. I watch TV this side. And then, this is the toilet and the bathroom. One of the very unusual features of South Africa is that alongside the police, especially in affluent areas, there are private security companies.The kind of area we're driving towards now is a commercial area. Lots of warehouses, factories, and all that, where there is quite a lot of criminal activity, cable theft, copper theft. There is no electricity, so it suits them, because there's no risk to them of getting shocked or electrocuted.
We were forced to start looking at protecting solar panels as well. Solar panels, obviously, goes onto your roof. So there is a market for that. There's actually syndicates targeting those houses. But they didn't like him calling the company a crime syndicate, nor did they like his emphasis on moving away from coal to renewable power.
When I got to the office, the coffee machine had apparently broken, and some people were servicing this machine. I then eventually got served a cup of coffee that looked a bit off. The froth on top of the cappuccino wasn't quite as nice as it usually was. Those allegations, their veracity must be tested before a court of law without dismissing them. The special investigating unit has been in contact with the former CEO to substantiate, so that they get to build a case, if any, and go after the individuals who are found to be in the wrong.
There were very strict limits as to how much power a private company could produce and what it could do with it. The fact is that renewable energy technology is now cheaper and faster to deploy than conventional energy. And in particular, when it comes to the environmental impact of coal it is clear that the choice has to be to move to cleaner, greener sources of electricity generation as quickly as possible.
It would mean shutting down coal mines. It would mean putting coal truckers out of work. A lot of those businesses are black-owned. Coal has been one of the most successful businesses in terms of the transition to black ownership. What are the social impacts of not transitioning? The cost is too high. We are going to be permanently shut out of the global trading system, and we're going to lose a lot of our export markets.
We don't have sufficient generation capacity to meet demand. And government has taken a decision to delay decommissioning by a couple of years. ShopRite is the largest retailer in Africa. Its ambition is to be the most affordable and accessible retailer in Africa. We use around 5.5 per cent of renewable electricity, and that's from the solar PV panels that we have, as well as some of our landlords. Then, there's diesel as well. Diesel at the moment probably represents between 15 per cent and 20 per cent of the electricity that we use.
South Africa already has some of the lowest emissions standards in the world. The issue is that as these coal power stations can't be managed, Eskom needs to fill the gap by allowing higher emissions - that involves a terrible trade-off in terms of air quality.While we are in this area, we are breathing toxic air each and every day. The sad part is that we are bringing up a sick generation, suffering from these illnesses, hardship when breathing, unable to go full time in school.
Load shedding remains as an existential threat to South Africa. The sooner government gets on top of this, the sooner Eskom gets on top of this, the better for the economy, the better for us to be able to create jobs.
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