Eskom vs Enron

[Azonic]

I encourage everyone to go see a movie called: Enron - The Smartest Guys in the Room.

 

Enron would, on purpose, cause 'artificial' power outages by taking generators down for maintenance, or faking that equipment was off line. This allowed them to drive up prices because desperate customers would pay anything for electricity.

 

One source:

"The tapes, from Enron's West Coast trading desk, also confirm what CBS

reported years ago: that in secret deals with power producers, traders

deliberately drove up prices by ordering power plants shut down."

 

 

Now, our beloved Eskom might be using the same tactics:

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/Power_Crisis/0,,2-7-2335_2290500,00.html

 

From Wikipedia:

"Enron traders were revealed as intentionally encouraging the removal of

power from the market during California's energy crisis by encouraging

suppliers to shut down plants to perform unnecessary maintenance, as

documented in recordings made at the time.

These acts contributed to the need for rolling blackouts, which

adversely affected many businesses dependent upon a reliable supply of

electricity, and inconvenienced a large number of retail consumers."

 

From the BBC:

"The state's lawyers have

long alleged that power companies were partially responsible for the

critical shortage of electricity which triggered rolling blackouts and

massive price increases during 2001."

 

 

READ THIS:

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/opinion.aspx?ID=BD4A695551

 

As far as I know, Eskom is a state owned enterprise. They have us by the short and curly's and they are milking us for millions. As stated in the News24 article above, same as with Enron, Eskom top brass will be getting over R10m in bonusses this month...

 

Be very afraid.

 

 

 

[ewep]

Azonic, ask some of the guys on the Hub.  I've mentioned this to them already!!!!

[Mudsimus]

I see in this mornings paper that they are appyling for a 60% increase in rates instead of the 14%.

[bob_the_builder]

 

I encourage everyone to go see a movie called: Enron - The Smartest Guys in the Room.

 

 

 

 

 

Brilliant movie. While you are at it, see An Inconvenient Truth. Make some hard decisions and help save our little blue dot.

 

[R2S2]

Jaaa Boet...

 

I was wondering again the other day, how we got from no outages  a year ago, to huge outages right now!  My logic says if capacity was a problem, outages would have increased at a rate that is equal to our economic growth or thereabouts...

[Azonic]

 

I encourage everyone to go see a movie called: Enron - The Smartest Guys in the Room.

 

 

 

 

 

Brilliant movie. While you are at it' date=' see An Inconvenient Truth. Make some hard decisions and help save our little blue dot.

[/quote']

 

I've seen it, months ago. I get my stuff before most people do. Al Gore tells paints a very scary picture, and you can see it every day. Temperatures are going up and up every day. Like my mom says, in her young days it was hot, the sun was warm, but today, it burns you. George Bush doesn't care though, he said that he can't do anything to change emissions because it will be bad for the economy. Nice, kill the planet, make a few bucks.

 

Also see "Sicko". Documentary about the American medical aid schemes, and way of doing business. Here in SA, we have exactly the same setup... Only the rich get care. If you are important, you get even better and faster care (Manto). In Canada, everyone gets the same, free care, and I think its a wonderful country.