According to reports in City Press this past weekend, Eskom has briefed the cabinet late last year on a possible national shut down of the power system.
They admitted that they failed to do maintenance and that the system has become unreliable. They also warned that should the system fail, it would be down for at least two weeks.
In such a case they would have to buy electricity equal to their capacity, but this would not be possible because the country’s neighbours all buy from South Africa.
It has also been reported that in the case of a national blackout, President Jacob Zuma and his cabinet would be taken to a secret location and soldiers will be deployed at national key points such as the Reserve Bank.
The US Embassy also indicated that they have put a contingency plan in place in case such a failure of the system occurs.
A source from within Eskom has said that a national blackout ” is a very significant possibility for the foreseeable future.”
