SA's electricity crisis 'not technical, but political' - Energy expert

702's John Perlman chats to engineer and energy expert, Mthunzi Luthuli.

Listen below:

Eskom has already spent nearly R6 billion of its R12 billion diesel budget for 2025, raising questions about whether South Africa’s improved electricity supply is sustainable. 

The power utility has been relying heavily on open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs), or 'peakers', to meet winter demand and avoid load shedding, but Luthuli warns this strategy isn't meant for long-term use.

"OCGTs should never be used for prolonged periods of time... they were never designed for that."

- Mthunzi Luthuli, Engineer and Energy expert 

He says these diesel-powered units are intended for short bursts during peak hours, not to fill ongoing gaps in generation. 

Luthuli notes that pumped storage schemes (a cheaper backup) should be used first, with OCGTs as a last resort. 

He emphasises that while Eskom has enough installed capacity to meet current winter demand, many units are inactive due to poor maintenance and mismanagement. 

"The peak capacity of South Africa at the moment, in the middle of winter, is between 32,000 and 34,000 megawatts. So, the question is, if we have an installed generation capacity of 40,000 - why is it that we can't meet a peak demand of 32,000 or 34,000 megawatts?"

- Mthunzi Luthuli, Engineer and Energy expert 

He argues the problem isn’t technical, but political. 

Luthuli suggests there's a deliberate effort to undermine Eskom's capabilities in order to make space for private energy producers in the market.

"There are games here that are being played. The problem that we face in South Africa is not a technical problem, it's a political, economic problem. Government wants to introduce private players into the industry, and in order for government to justify that, they have to show Eskom not to be capable of generating electricity for the country... even if it does have that capacity."  

- Mthunzi Luthuli, Engineer and Energy expert 

RELATED: Electricity 'democratisation': Ramokgopa announces reforms to ease third-party energy provision

Scroll up to listen to the full conversation.