South African energy crisis

South Africa's energy crisis (or load shedding) is an ongoing period of widespread national power outages beginning at the end of 2007. The South African government-owned national power utility, and primary power generator, Eskom, and various parliamentarians have attributed these rolling blackouts to insufficient generation capacity.

According to Eskom and government officials, the solution requires the construction of additional power stations and generators. However, corruption and mismanagement of Eskom, most notably during the Jacob Zuma administration, has exacerbated the energy crisis; while neglect by Eskom staff, multiple acts of sabotage, and the activity of criminal syndicates within Eskom with alleged political connections have also contributed to ongoing power supply problems. Many South Africans commentators have described the ongoing energy crisis as a symptom of long-standing poor governance.

In April 2024, South Africa had a full month without rotational power cuts, which was the first time since January 2022. However, load shedding and scheduled rolling blackouts returned at the end of January 2025.