This revelation was made by Christo van der Rheede, Agri SA’s Executive Director, during his sit-down with the OFM Business Hour.

Van der Rheede, says members of the sector met with Didiza last week and in addition to announcing the establishment of the task team, Didiza called on the industry to assist government in developing tangible solutions to the ongoing energy crisis.

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You can only go so far with solar power – Agri SA

 The Agri SA Executive says solar farms may be heralded as the key to the country’s Eskom problem, but “you can only go so far with solar power” he warns. Not only does big industrial activity require a far stronger and consistent current than what solar can supply, but there is the added problem of how to transfer the power generated by the farms into the Eskom grid. Van der Rheede says the infrastructure to do this is not available yet. The sector is warning that continued blackouts at this level pose a threat to food security in the country. The diesel costs associated with generators are lowering profits for farmers.

Solution’s aside, Eskom is in need of a root-cause analysis

Meanwhile the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) via its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alan Mukoki insists, that everyone needs to hold off on coming up with solutions until a root-cause analysis has been undertaken at Eskom. Mukoki said the same thing when outgoing Eskom Group CEO, Andre de Ruyter handed in his resignation at the end of 2022.

ALSO READ: Eskom must get 'proper root-cause assessment'

He maintains the entire ecosystem around Eskom must be probed from "government, which includes cabinet’s roles; issues of operations and technology; the issue of funding; and the relationships and the interrelationships in the organisation between staff members and the executive management," says the SACCI CEO.

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