Eskom could quite easily plunge the entire country into darkness, according to energy expert Ted Blom. The national grid has been in various states of disrepair for decades due to neglect and shoddy workmanship. Cable and fuse theft is a common problem and thousands of homes and businesses lose electricity for hours every time a brazen thief rummages in a neighbourhood mini substation. Aside from suspect electrical work and a black market for copper, human error at the core of the national grid is a very real threat. Blom adds that our complex electricity grid isn’t designed to withstand constant shutdown and startup cycles, which are all too familiar during loadshedding. He tells MyBroadband just how easily the grid could be disrupted for weeks.