Beyond Load Shedding: How South Africa’s Electricity Crisis Scarred Industry
On 4 September 2026, Eskom reported 476 consecutive days without load shedding and power station performance at its highest level since 2020, with 2026 winter demand fully met. Two studies in Energy Policy and Energy Economics found the electricity crisis weakened South African manufacturing through job, investment and export channels. The research associates the crisis with manufacturing job losses, reduced capital investment and harm to manufacturers’ export activities.
Why it matters: This matters for the energy theme because ending load shedding does not by itself reverse the job, investment and export damage to South Africa’s manufacturing base.