OPINION | What 14 years of load shedding taught us about centralisation

Today, we produce less power than we did 14 years ago, and the gigantic coal-fired power stations of Medupi and Kusile stand as monuments to the hubris of centralisation, says John Endres.

I was startled to discover that we are now entering the 14th year of load shedding. You may remember the chaos that erupted in late 2007 when South Africans faced rolling blackouts for the first time: robots stopped working, the streetlights went out, and peak-hour traffic became a nightmare at night-time.