Eskom Crisis and impact on business
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Gugu Mfuphi talks to Sifiso Skenjana, Founder And Financial Economist At Afra Consultants
As Eskom implemented stage 6 load shedding for the first time on Monday evening, energy analyst Chris Yelland – speaking to Fin24 from a dark house and with an almost-flat cellphone battery – did not mince his words. South Africa was "really close to the edge", but the public generally has a lack of understanding about the seriousness of the electricity crisis, he said.
"Believe me, stage 6 load shedding is bad."
ALSO: At the start of 2019, the World Bank and other financial institutions predicted that South Africa's economy would grow at around 1.3% in 2019. This figure has been repeatedly downgraded, with the SA Reserve Bank anticipating growth of just 0.5% - below the GDP growth SA achieved in 2018 and well below the mean of other emerging market economies. But the effects of sustained load shedding in the fourth quarter of the year may make even the SARB's latest prediction look too rosy.
As Eskom implemented stage 6 load shedding for the first time on Monday evening, energy analyst Chris Yelland – speaking to Fin24 from a dark house and with an almost-flat cellphone battery – did not mince his words. South Africa was "really close to the edge", but the public generally has a lack of understanding about the seriousness of the electricity crisis, he said.
"Believe me, stage 6 load shedding is bad."
ALSO: At the start of 2019, the World Bank and other financial institutions predicted that South Africa's economy would grow at around 1.3% in 2019. This figure has been repeatedly downgraded, with the SA Reserve Bank anticipating growth of just 0.5% - below the GDP growth SA achieved in 2018 and well below the mean of other emerging market economies. But the effects of sustained load shedding in the fourth quarter of the year may make even the SARB's latest prediction look too rosy.
