Why the lights went out: reform in the South African energy sector

This 2013 case study by Tracy Ledger examines the origins of South Africa's energy crisis, focusing on the role of the state utility Eskom and the systemic failures that led to widespread power cuts and load shedding starting in 2007.

• South Africa experienced a severe energy crisis beginning in late 2007, characterized by 'rolling blackouts' and 'load shedding' to prevent a total collapse of the national grid. This followed initial power cuts in December 2005 caused by damage to the Koeberg nuclear power station in the Western and Northern Cape.
• The energy crisis had significant economic and social impacts, including the paralysis of cities, loss of stock for supermarkets and food processing enterprises, and a five-day production halt in gold and platinum mines on 25 January 2008, referred to as 'Black Friday'. Productivity losses were estimated in the billions of rands.
• Despite Eskom's previous international reputation for technical excellence—including winning the Financial Times Global Power Company of the Year Award in 2001—the utility failed to maintain capacity. By late October 2007, 25% of its generation capacity was non-functional.
• Political leadership acknowledged the severity of the crisis, with ANC General Secretary Gwede Mantashe comparing it to the AIDS epidemic and President Thabo Mbeki admitting the government failed to act on Eskom's requests to increase generation capacity.

APA

Ledger, T. (2019). Why the lights went out: reform in the South African energy sector. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/why-the-lights-went-out-reform-in-the-south-african-energy-sector/

Chicago

Ledger, Tracy. Why the lights went out: reform in the South African energy sector. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2019. https://pari.org.za/why-the-lights-went-out-reform-in-the-south-african-energy-sector/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ledger |first1=Tracy |title=Why the lights went out: reform in the South African energy sector |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=22 February 2019 |url=https://pari.org.za/why-the-lights-went-out-reform-in-the-south-african-energy-sector/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ledger2019why, author = {Ledger, Tracy}, title = {{Why the lights went out: reform in the South African energy sector}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2019}, month = feb, url = {https://pari.org.za/why-the-lights-went-out-reform-in-the-south-african-energy-sector/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }