A North-West University (NWU) professor believes that – should power cuts continue as they have – more people will lose jobs, threatening the livelihoods of many in the country. This is especially true of small, medium and micro enterprises that are currently not coping.

Prof David Daw, an energy expert, was weighing in ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the National Address (SONA) tonight.

He says PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated in 2021 that the ongoing power cuts were expected to result in the loss of at least 350 000 jobs, despite projections of a 3,9% economic growth.

“There is a need for an immediate solution to this crisis. Addressing these continuous power cuts should be a major priority to the president in the upcoming SONA,” says Prof Daw.

Possible solution

Prof Daw says South Africa has suffered intermittent power cuts since 2005 because of deteriorating power plants that can’t keep pace with demand. Now, the government is splitting Eskom into three entities in the hope of reviving its fortunes.

He believes that a long-term load shedding solution could be the development of a hybrid solar system.

“A hybrid solar system will provide enough power to keep essentials running during power outages, as well as enable people to save money on electricity. Such a system enables you to harvest renewable energy from the sun, use it to power some of your loads, and store it for periods of load shedding,” explains Prof Daw.

Prof David Daw is calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently address the electricity issues in the country.