[The Conversation Africa] South Africa's economy has been hard hit by 15 years of loadshedding (rolling blackouts). The country's coal-fired power plants have a maintenance backlog and frequently experience unexpected technical failures. On the other hand, South Africa has committed, under the Paris Agreement, to transition to low-carbon energy generation technologies by 2050. This puts South Africa at an energy crossroads where it needs well thought out policy development and implementation to make the transition possible.