FAQ

Why can't Eskom generate enough power?

It's controversial but probably because of state capture and general corruption in South Africa and especially at South Africa's State Owned Enterprises.

Because Eskom failed to build new generation capacity, it ran its aging power plants far harder than it should have. (Eskom benchmarks the performance of its coal-fired power stations against those of the members of Vereinigung der Großkesselbesitzer, a European-based technical association for electricity and heat generation industries.)

Here's a graph showing the utilization factor of Eskom's plants compared to VGB benchmarks.