Eskom: South Africa's Power Crisis and What It Means for You

When you flip a switch and nothing happens, you’re feeling the impact of Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned electricity utility responsible for generating and distributing over 90% of the country’s power. Also known as the Electricity Supply Commission, Eskom isn’t just a company—it’s the backbone of daily life in South Africa, and when it stumbles, the whole country feels it. Load shedding isn’t an inconvenience anymore; it’s a rhythm of life. Families plan meals around blackouts. Small shops lose inventory when fridges go dark. Clinics scramble for backup generators. And for millions on social grants, like those managed by SASSA, South Africa’s Social Security Agency that distributes pensions and relief grants to over 18 million people, power outages mean no phone charging to check grant status, no internet to verify payments, and no way to reach help when systems fail.

Eskom’s problems aren’t new, but they’ve grown worse. Aging power plants, mismanagement, and corruption have turned maintenance into a crisis. Some stations haven’t been properly serviced in over a decade. The result? Frequent, unpredictable outages that stretch from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Businesses lose millions daily. Schools cancel classes. Even the Telkom, South Africa’s largest telecommunications provider, which relies on stable power to run its network infrastructure, struggles to keep services online during peak load shedding. When Telkom sold its tower business for R6.5 billion, part of the reason was to reduce debt and focus on core services—services that can’t function without electricity. And when SASSA rolled out its new verification system in July 2025, many beneficiaries couldn’t complete the process because their local offices had no power.

It’s not just about lights going out. It’s about trust. People are tired of waiting for promises to be kept. The government talks about renewable energy and private sector partnerships, but for now, the reality is still blackouts at 5 p.m. and no warning. You check your phone, hoping for an update. You hear the siren, and you know what’s coming. The connection between Eskom and everyday survival is real—and it’s getting harder to ignore. Below, you’ll find the latest news on how Eskom’s failures are affecting everything from grant payments to business operations, and what real people are doing to cope.