South Africa is currently experiencing longer power outages due to components within the transmission and distribution network failing as a result of load shedding, prompting Eskom to suggest replacing the current load shedding model with a demand side management approach.
Dangerous contact with electricity resulted in 34 accidents on South African construction sites, leading to the death of one person and four being permanently disabled in 2022. “Even one death is one too many,” says Dr Andrew Dickson, engineering executive at CBI-electric: low voltage.
The South African manufacturing industry experienced a 5.2% decrease in production in February 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year, with employment in the sector shrinking in the last quarter of 2022.
Although South Africa’s youth unemployment rate dropped slightly in the fourth quarter of 2022, the situation remains critical, with the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) revealing that 4,6 million young people are looking for jobs.
In the 2023 National Budget Speech, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced several measures aimed at addressing South Africa’s energy crisis, but it is difficult to predict whether these efforts will be enough, considering the complex and multifaceted nature of the situation. However, they represent a step in the right direction.