Desmund Bernardo, who has appeared on my podcast before, is a South African project manager at Koeberg Nuclear Power Station who held a reactor operator’s license, with deep insight into the nuts and bolts of the country’s energy issues.
In the following conversation with me, he dived into why our country has been so hard hit, covering a range of talking points ignored by the mainstream media—such as why it suddenly appears fixed and who is really behind the chaos.
Quick background
For clarity, South Africa has been plagued by ‘load shedding’ (rolling blackouts) since 2007, with the last few years being the most severe. In 2023, for example, we experienced between four to eight hours of no electricity daily.
For years, South Africa’s ruling party—the ANC (African National Congress)—has been blamed for everything, which is rather short-sighted, as other factors play a significant role too.
These include the official opposition party, the DA (Democratic Alliance), former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter, and the UN’s Sustainable Development agenda.
Load shedding is a last resort to protect the national grid from total collapse.
Eskom (official statement)
As I type this, I haven’t experienced any rolling blackouts for many months, which is extremely unusual considering the last few years. It’s purely a coincidence, of course, that this lines up with Andre leaving Eskom.
Talking points
Des highlighted how Eskom was built to serve industry and government, not the general public.
Understanding Eskom’s history adds context.
He then went on to explain the impact of political interference and underinvestment in new power stations, compounded by growing demand, which ultimately crippled both Eskom and the grid.
Des really drove home the point that grid stability and conditioning are crucial, but they’re being ignored.
Here’s the one that many South Africans refuse to accept: André de Ruyter.
His tenure at Eskom centred on pushing the UN’s Sustainable Development nonsense, trying to get the country to transition away from coal towards unreliable renewable energy.
Wind and solar sound good on paper, but they fail to provide the stable power needed to keep the country running. I recommend listening to my conversation with Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore on why Earth needs more carbon dioxide.
I’ve said this loads of times and wll say it again: humans are not causing Earth to warm. The sun is, followed by clouds and other environmental vectors far more powerful than humans.
If you believe that humans are more powerful than the sun, you’re an idiot.
That said, Des agrees that the ANC’s mismanagement has contributed to South Africa’s precarious energy situation, while international agendas simultaneously attempt to dictate our energy policy.
Conversation
This is one of the most important conversations you’ll hear about the future of South Africa’s electricity.
We are not in a position to solve Eskom’s problems overnight.
André de Ruyter
