Some of the power lines that bring electricity to Port Elizabeth from the Eskom power stations in Mpumalanga. In the background is the now defunct Swartkops Power Station. It would have been an ideal source of backup power for the city, had the decision not been taken to mothball it and sell off the plant for scrap metal.
It is obvious that the day they took the Swartkops power plant out of commission they didn’t foresee the electricity shortage of today.
Firefly I was working for the old Midland Chamber of Industries at the time. We were well aware of Eskom’s inability to provide a consistent supply of power. We strongly lobbied for the Swartkops Power Station to be kept as a backup. The bureaucrats won the day and now we pay the price.
I once read somebody describing these huge electricity pylons as ladies doing headstands with their skirts over their heads and their legs in the air – now I can’t get that rather amusing similie out of my mind each time I see them! And you probably won’t be able to either 😉