25-08 - Flipbook - Page 14
Mi n i str i es
'It's a lifesaver': Making solar power affordable in South Africa
South African Mark Moodley believes that installing a domestic solar power
system has helped keep his 81-year-old mother alive.
She spent three weeks in intensive care last year, and now back at home in
Benoni, east of Johannesburg, she needs an oxygen concentrator to help
her breathe.
But the country's erratic electricity supply meant could not be relied on.
"There were days we'd be without power for six hours. I had to use a car
battery to run her oxygen tank, but that didn't last long and you'd have to
sit with her with her arms raised to try and get oxygen into her lungs," Mr
Moodley tells the BBC.
"Sometimes we had to rush her to hospital when that didn't work. It was
scary."
Back then, doctors told the family she might not have long to live. But a
steady power supply has given them more time together.
"It's been a lifesaver. I don't have to check on her constantly through the
night. I know her oxygen tank has power no matter what," he says, voice
trembling.
Despite recent improvements in South Africa's power grid, there are still
outages.
Having a steady electricity supply has become a privilege in the country,
which has endured nearly 15 years of "load-shedding" - scheduled
nationwide blackouts introduced to ease pressure on the fragile
infrastructure.
As well as endangering some lives, the crisis has damaged economic
growth and contributed to job losses.
Pumza Fihlani
