The effect of persistent power cuts on SA businesses and consumers was one of the most important themes in coverage of the country’s economic performance in 2023. This year has been one of Eskom’s worst in terms of generation performance, resulting in South Africans experiencing more load-shedding hours than in the previous five years combined. Load-shedding is estimated to have cost R224bn between 2020 and 2022 and the cost this year is likely to be much higher.