Blackout: The Eskom Crisis

Front Cover
Jonathan Ball, 2015 - Business & Economics - 228 pages
n 1998 the government was warned that the country was running out of electricity. Yet the decision was taken not to invest in new power stations. In 2007, as predicted, South Africa ran out of electricity. Eight years later the crisis has deepened and, despite assurances by government, this has the potential to become the biggest post-apartheid crisis in South Africa. By 2015 load shedding cost the economy an estimated R2 billion per day. Is the situation getting better or worse? Blackout: The Eskom Crisis gives a compelling insight into each aspect of the energy crisis - from load shedding to leadership, policy to politics to nuclear versus renewable energy - and unpacks the debates raging across South Africa today -- Publisher's description.

About the author (2015)

As a journalist, James-Brent Styan wrote about Eskom since 2008. He followed the story from the other side of Lephalale to the inside of parliament and everywhere in-between. During this time, he spoke to the decision makers, the rule makers, the politicians, the officials, the employees and everyone else. He was there from the first load shedding and is still writing and tweeting about Eskom today. This is his account of what he saw and what was promised.