South Africans are turning away from Eskom, with new data showing exactly how far the state utility has fallen out of favour.
South Africans are bidding farewell to Eskom due to declining demand for its electricity, which has resulted from years of load shedding and inflation.
However, one of the biggest reasons South Africans experience less load-shedding is a reduction in demand for electricity from Eskom. , an economic research institution, said that Eskom’s electricity output decreased by an average of 0.7% per quarter, or 2.7% annually, from the first quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2024.
Off-grid supply also increased rapidly, although it is not consistently monitored. Eskom and the National Treasury estimate that private off-grid capacity, including rooftop solar and plants established by mines, refineries, and other major users, now exceeds five gigawatts or about 10% of Eskom’s nominal capacity.The growth in capacity outside of Eskom has played a crucial role in achieving even slow growth from mid-2022 to the end of 2023, a period during which load shedding reached new peaks.
Simply put, households and businesses are replacing electricity generated by Eskom with power from their own alternative sources or private providers. According to an economic bulletin published by the South African Reserve Bank – written by economists Zaakirah Ismail and Christopher Wood – since load shedding started in 2008, electricity pricing has increased by a shocking 450%, drastically outstripping CPI by 352%, with inflation recorded at 98% over the same period.According to independent energy expert Mohammed Madhi, Eskom is harming itself by increasing electricity prices beyond the inflation rate.
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