Next month we are having South Africa's General Election and the only change we have visibly noticed is that load shedding has stopped. The last time we had load shedding was over three weeks ago. This has to be seen as buying votes as there is no other way of looking at it.
We experienced a power outage this morning which was quickly informed that it was weather related and would be restored within 2 hours. I think the outage only lasted 40 minutes and this type of service is unheard of because even the simple fixes tend to take 8 hours or longer.
The only difference is the Government would like to remain in power again and they know if they provide electricity without any load shedding up till the elections the masses could possibly forget. Uneducated voters seem to have short memories and will believe the electricity supply problem has been fixed.
This was kind of expected and just highlights how simple politicians and their supporters really are. We have had rolling blackouts for over 1 year and now all of a sudden there are none. The answer is the problem has not miraculously gone away and the diesel generators are on permanently providing the shortfall. This was what the corrupt element wanted all along even though it is unsustainable due to the costs. This is how they make their illegal gains by providing the diesel at inflated prices whilst keeping the country happy.
The sad part is the masses will vote the Government back in and it will be service as normal a few days after the election with load shedding continuing for the next 4 years. This is Africa in a nutshell because the majority of people are undedicated and easily manipulated. This is why the people in charge don't really want the masses to be able to read and write because then they can think for themselves.
The only other times we have received a free pass from load shedding is public holidays and when the SA Rugby team at the Rugby World Cup were playing their matches. It is amazing to think they can make a plan when they need to and at other times leave you in darkness for up to 10-12 hours per day.
The simple facts are Eskom (SOE) is providing far less electricity than we have seen over the last 20 years which has forced businesses and many residential properties to leave the national grid. The reason being lack of supply and the rising costs way above inflation which has forced them to seek alternative energy.
This we know is going to create havoc in the future because these were the paying customers leaving the remainder to cover the overall Eskom running costs. the 18-20% tariff increases are not going to go away and within the next five years expect electricity prices to double from where they are currently.
