A new report by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) says it was the worst year of power cuts to date.

And over the past 10 years, the total economic impact of load-shedding, could be as high as R338-billion.

The CSIR says urgent action is needed to ensure the energy sector recovers.

The CSIR's research shows South Africans experienced 530 hours of planned power cuts in 2019, this as Eskom reduced the load on the national grid to stop it becoming overloaded. In 2015, the country experienced more power cuts, but last year the intensity was much higher.

Last year saw the unprecedented implementation of Stage 6 load-shedding in December.

Experts say load-shedding is likely to continue for two or three years unless government takes key decisions and actions.

The CSIR says in the short-term, businesses, citizens, mines and farms should be allowed to produce their own electricity to close the energy supply gap.

eNCA