Eskom is running out of options: it’s emergency diesel reserves are near-depleted and, even if the power utility was given all the money needed for more diesel, it couldn’t burn it fast enough to keep the lights on.
Chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer warned this week that if Eskom keeps burning diesel — used to power the gas turbines when the ageing coal-fired power stations break down — the parastatal risks a total crash and even more rolling blackouts.