From energy racism to people’s power: unpacking the electricity crisis and resistance in Orange Farm, Johannesburg

ABSTRACT

Energy racism, a brainchild of racial capitalism, systemically excludes the black majority who are denied safe, reliable and clean household energy. It manifests in violent and, sometimes, deadly ways, which are often met with organised resistance from below. Drawing on a case study of Orange Farm, Johannesburg, this article explores the politics of popular resistance to the crisis of neoliberalism and cost recovery. It argues that the macro-sphere of energy production (for example, global coal consumption and Eskom) and the micro-sphere of consumption and resistance intersect within the constraints of a racialised system of capital extraction.

RÉSUMÉ

Le racisme énergétique, fruit du capitalisme racial, exclut de manière systémique la majorité noire, qui se voit refuser une énergie domestique sûre, fiable et propre. Il se manifeste de manière violente et parfois mortelle, et se heurte souvent à une résistance organisée de la base. À partir d’une étude de cas menée à Orange Farm, Johannesburg, nous explorons les politiques de résistance populaire à la crise du néolibéralisme et au recouvrement des coûts. Cet article soutient que la macro-sphère de la production d’énergie (par exemple, la consommation mondiale de charbon et Eskom) et la micro-sphère de la consommation et de la résistance se croisent dans les contraintes d’un système racialisé d’extraction du capital.

KEYWORDS:

• Energy racism
• racial capitalism
• cost recovery
• Eskom
• load shedding
• people’s power

MOTS-CLÉS:

• Racisme énergétique
• capitalisme racial
• recouvrement des coûts
• Eskom
• délestage
• pouvoir du peuple

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Eskom claims that Soweto residents owe up to R18 billion to Eskom for non-payment (see Maggott et al. 2022, 68).

2 Pseudonyms have been used to protect the identities of participants.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Luke Sinwell

Luke Sinwell is Project Coordinator at the Centre for Sociological Research and Practice (CSRP), University of Johannesburg, and a Professor of Sociology. His research interests are in social movement research, including participatory democracy, the Marikana strikes of 2012–2014, and popular education.

Trevor Ngwane

Trevor Ngwane, the Director of CSRP, is a long-time scholar–activist who has contributed to several post-1994 social movements such as the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee (SECC) and Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF). His research interests include indigenous knowledge systems and methodologies of scholar activism. Email address: [email protected].

Terri Maggott

Terri Maggott, a Researcher at CSRP, is an emerging scholar–activist with research interests in feminist politics, higher education, and student movements, particularly Fees Must Fall and the People’s Education Movement of the mid 1980s in South Africa. Email address: [email protected].