Stage 7 till the ‘not too distant future’? Three things you need to know

Of these three "things", one and two are fact. Number three is a promise/assertion by an ANC politician so is actually irrelevant in terms of any strategic move to deal with the current electricity supply situation, which is only going to worsen.

The private sector and individuals have imported a power stations worth of solar panels in the last few months. So what stage would we be in if our private sector wasn't spending billions of their own money to minimize their reliance on Eskom.

“Cabinet was assured that the current implementation of increased stages of load shedding is a short-term phase as Eskom prepares for sustained and lessened stages of load shedding in the not-so-distant future.” Spin doctoring is not putting a time frame for short -term. Do we take it in African Time terms of maybe this year or next year or Brakpna terminology of now, just now or now now. Also - "lessened stages of load shedding in the not-so-distant future" - This year, next year, next decade

Load Shedding is not going away whilst the ANC is in charge, they can't fix it as they don't have the required skill to run a country. They are however very skilled at breaking things which used to work, e.g. Eskom, SAA, Transnet, Armscor, SA Nuclear Energy Corporation etc.

If you use a generator you also need money to pay for the diesel or petrol to run the generator. Do you know how much this costs today. The ministers are also not paying for this and us the citizens and businesses must also fund this - there has been much from P & P and other's commenting on the cost for business. Because our ministers do not pay for anything and they can not do or understand budgets, they really do not know what the real cost is to us out here , far from their isolated cushioned space. Denise Smit

As more and more make their own plans Eksom becomes less and less relevant and will end up with fewer paying customers. It's monopoly is ending, no matter what the cANCer may or may not want for it. Same will happen for water and, when it dawns on the Muppets to tax air, that too will elude their grasp. Starve the beast.

These mamparras at Eksdom really need (like others in this world such as the ex-Loser, sorry Leader, of the Free World) to remember that old bit of advice that "When you're in a hole, stop freaking well digging!". They're already a joke for the way they and the ANC have messed this country up the last 16 years or so with loadshedding/thievery, and it seems they keep on doing it day by day (hour by hour?) by moving the goalposts so often that we haven't really got a clue when the power is going to be on or off.

Painful Reality: The capital cost of repairing/reinstalling damaged assets due to cable theft, there's a BIGGER obvious threat to electricity provision for the SA population. The government is well aware of the level of electricity theft that goes on in our townships, cables dangling from power poles amongst other forms only the blind cannot see. Do a drone flight over our 'informal settlements' and you'll be shocked by the number of satellite TV dishes there are on these 'informal residences'. TV needs power to run but who is paying for that electricity seeing as there is no installed infrastructure supplying that power. Put aside the fact that electricity theft is not criminalised in SA (please tell me why) the political will to deal with the issue does not exist. There is the obvious hard issue of the violence outbreak but there is the softer issue of voter depression as well.