Power to the people

Apparently there are electricity shortages in South Africa.

The rumour is that because Cape Town is experiencing shortages, they will take power from Durban's supply.

I think there should be a class-action suit against Eskom. Everyone pays them money, and they agree to supply electricity. Even though there is no service contract specifically, it is implied that the service will be available 24x7x365. Anything less than this means reduction in quality of life, possibly loss of business, and additional costs to the end user in purchasing alternative power.

That said, a note to Durbanites: don't panic. Durban gets its power from the national grid, whereas parts Cape Town seem to get their power through local sources, hence the problems.

I still don't think it is right that a national energy supplier should not be able to keep up with capacity. If they can't, the users should stand together and make an issue of it. In many countries, electricity, even access to a phone is a basic right.

Oh - doesn't Eskom "sell" electricity over the borders to the whole sub-continent? Zim, Bot, even Malawi, etc? If anything, they should be cutting power from them and looking after national interests first.