Does Eskom really supply neighbouring countries with electricity?
According to Eskom, 95% of generated power supply is used within South Africa, with the rest reportedly exported to Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. A Fin24 article (18 January 2008) reported “information obtained by Solidarity shows that Eskom currently exports 3 000MW of electricity to neighbouring countries. This almost equals the entire output of one SA power station” however it was reported just days later (20 January 2008) that Eskom had pulled the plug on its neighbours. Hours later, reports emerged of major blackouts hitting Zimbabwe and Zambia almost simultaneously. Swaziland, which gets about 80% of its power from South Africa, has also had to start looking elsewhere for power. Eskom spokesperson Sipho Neke has been reported as saying, “when we don’t have enough capacity for domestic use we don’t sell electricity. There is no surplus so there are no exports.” In the wake of these power cuts to neighbouring countries, Mozambique has emerged as a potential supplier of
