Eskom: Highest probability ever of total blackout – expert

The risk of a total blackout has never been higher in the history of power supply in South Africa.

This is the opinion of independent energy expert and activist Ted Blom, who has some shocking information to share, such as the 197 times a mill at Majuba Power Station broke down in June.

The latest bout of power cuts takes the tally of days on which South Africa has had load-shedding this year to more than 100.

“Over the past two weeks, Eskom’s generating units tripped 99 times, leading to devastating breakdowns at nearly all of the country’s power stations,” says Blom.

This escalated load-shedding from level 3 to level 6, prompting President Cyril Ramaphosa to cut short his international tour and return to South Africa after Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. Back home, opposition parties were waiting to confront him about the crisis.

WATCH: Energy expert Ted Blom shares shocking Eskom breakdown statistics and warns that the likelihood of a total blackout has never been higher.

“As Eskom plunged South Africa into stage 6 load-shedding this week, our country is facing what experts have referred to as a ‘catastrophic’ event as our national electrical grid buckles under the pressure of decades of corruption, mismanagement and unworkable policy proposals by President Cyril Ramaphosa, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and the ANC in national government,” said the DA in a press statement.

According to Blom, it all boils down to incompetence.

He says the repeated breakdowns in June of one of Majuba’s mills, which included five breakdowns of a gearbox, points to incompetent repairs or incompetent running of the machines.

According to Blom, it is time to admit that Eskom’s management is sending the power utility on a downward spiral.

“If there is no intervention by people who actually know what is required, the probability of a total blackout is the highest in the 100 years of Eskom’s existence,” he says.