James, you'd know from your SA visit that massive overaccumulation of power generation (30% overcapacity in the late 1980s) was followed by give-away deals to smelters (Anglo, BHP Billiton, now Alcan). The supply increase of the 1980s is what's behind SA's 2000s electricity brownouts and disconnection epidemic, as the poor can't afford the rising costs of bringing back old mothballed plants. "Build the infrastructure and they will come" philosophy is such a waste. So for energy policy we should try the opposite: cut off the big wasteful corporate users (they are so capital intensive that each smelter has fewer than 800 direct jobs), disincentivize suburban sprawl (!) and learn to make do with public transport or at worst a second hand car instead of a new one every couple of years, and assure everyone has a free electricity lifeline - a couple of kWh per person per day at least - for basic needs. No new supply is needed for that, given that such a small share of the current power grid is consumed by low-income households.