Cape Town - While candles have become a norm across the country because of rolling blackouts, on Wednesday 100 of them were needed to celebrate the country’s embattled power utility’s centenary birthday after being founded on March 1, 1923.
Eskom’s 100th year continues this month with not a single day gone by without load shedding, with Eskom and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) reportedly working on preparing schedules beyond Stage 8 for the future.
Eskom shared some comments on the momentous occasion, reflecting on its past and its future.
“The past 100 years have included highlights such as around 90% of South African homes being electrified, as opposed to an average of 17% in the rest of Africa … Eskom is moving away from being the sole supplier of electricity to being an enabler of electricity generation for South Africa.
“Eskom is also moving towards being a cleaner and more sustainable company through our Just Energy Transition (JET) programme,” the power utility said.
Eskom said its current focus was on turning around performance and improving its financial position. Its power system will also be modernised to benefit Eskom and all customers.
“As we enter our centenary year, Eskom intends to remain a critical player in the electricity industry and contribute to economic growth, job creation, and socio-economic development. Here’s to 100 more,” Eskom said.
With the worsening bouts of blackouts, South Africans took to social media to share hilarious birthday wishes with the embattled power utility.
On Twitter, non-profit company the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) wished Eskom a sarcastic “Happy Birthday” paired with a picture of cake batter in a mixing bowl, unfinished because there was no electricity to bake it.
“We wanted to do something special, so for all those who brought this once-proud entity to its knees, here’s a cake. Jokes aside: we realise there are some good people in Eskom still trying to keep the lights on. We thank them for their efforts,” Outa said.
Energy policy and investment specialist Anton Eberhard posted: “We should be celebrating the birth of an unbundled, competitive power market, as per government policy. Instead we’re saddled with an insolvent behemoth unable to keep the lights on.”
Another Twitter user posted: “Happy Birthday Eskom. The 100 candles on the cake will provide enough light at least.”
#Eskom is 100 years old today. We wanted to do something special, so for all those who brought this once proud entity to its knees, here's a cake.
— OUTA (@OUTASA) March 1, 2023
(Jokes aside: we realise there are some good people in Eskom still trying to keep the lights on. We thank them for their efforts.) pic.twitter.com/r6nXz2eMtU
kristin.engel@in.co.za