[imagesource:wikimediacommons]

It is really difficult not to take heed of the alarm bells ringing super loudly right now.

The trajectory of load shedding seems to be pointing toward total power grid collapse, which could be detrimental to us all.

It’s very possible that the reason we are experiencing such frequent bouts of load shedding (and such flippy-floppy scheduling) is that the powers that be are actually trying to avoid a total blackout.

The situation seems dire and is only getting worse by the hour. We are currently going through various stages of load-shedding in one day – compare the schedule from one day to the next and you’ll notice there’s no consistency, just what appears to be a desperate dodge of total darkness.

Surely this level of load-shedding means that the government is not doing anything to fix the problem, but merely avoiding the worst – like a load-shedding band-aid being smacked on in every possible direction to try and avoid full-throttle gloom.

On Thursday in parliament, President Cyril Ramaphosa assured that South Africans would be the first to know when the power grid collapses – mmhmm – and outright admitted that load shedding was essential in preventing a total blackout.

The only real action we’re seeing from Uncle Cyril is the arrests of corrupt cronies dipping their hands into Eskom’s pocket.

Once the sh*t really hits the fan, the lack of electricity is bound to impact basic survival, where pandemic-like stockpiling will be the new norm again. Nobody wants to hack through Checkers just to get some eggs and bread, but it may just end up becoming a reality.

The fuel prices to keep generators running are already astronomical, and sustaining that will be near impossible soon enough. In December last year, fuel service stations were already ringing the bell, with the Fuel Retailers Association (FRA) chief executive Reggie Sibiya saying that ongoing load shedding is a major threat to fuel retailers, forcing their costs to rise. Indeed, we’re all feeling it in our pockets.

Just so you really get the picture, Pick ‘n Pay is spending a whopping R60 million a month running diesel generators to keep the lights on and food fresh.

In fact, Pick ‘n Pay chairperson Gareth Ackerman reckons this is not going to work for much longer and we might soon be on our way to total anarchy, with the threat of load-shedding wreaking havoc on food supply and possibly causing a civil war.

Not having a decent amount of power in a day is going to lead to no fuel, a short supply of food, and possibly no bank access (but don’t keep money in your couch in case of looting), along with fighting on the streets.

We’re not there yet, but it feels like we’re edging closer every day.

Anyway, the only good thing to come of this electricity crisis is that our country is now ahead of its target for cutting emissions of greenhouse gases, notes BusinessTech. I mean it’s mad that this is what it takes:

Output of the climate-warming gases from the world’s 14th-biggest emitter is already falling even though its Nationally Determined Contribution, a target adopted by the cabinet in 2021, only forecast a decline from 2025.

Regular breakdowns of the coal-fired power plants that supply more than 80% of South Africa’s electricity mean that less carbon dioxide is being pumped into the atmosphere and daily rotational cuts of more than 10 hours a day are further limiting emissions from factories.

Crispian Olver, the executive director of South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission, said that this is completely “unintentional” but that we are “well within the range” of meeting the 2030 target:

South Africa aims to reduce its emissions to between 350 and 420 megatons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030, bettering a target set in 2015 of emitting between 398 and 614 megatons by that date.

Reaching these goals is essential for securing pledges of $8,5 billion in climate finance from some of the world’s richest nations.

We’re searching for the light wherever we can.

[source:businesstech]