A dark Africa lays ahead.....load shedding

[Fruity]

Had to laugh, on neighborhood whatsapp group people were complaining their load shedding apps were crashing due to high volumes... even the apps are load shedding.

I had that a bit earlier this morning with EskomSePush. It's not often you see that in an app.

[Chris_]

https://www.jacarandafm.com/news/news/eskom-should-scrap-tarrif-increase-request-ted-blom/

 

This guy's often speaking to Jacaranda. He has some truly horrific tales. Short of calling 'I told you so' he's been calling a catastrophic collapse for ages now. 

[DJR]

...........

You know what? I think you can sell your Hub name to Escom. Maybe they'd be happy to pay a couple of billion for it. It sure is more appropriate that their current name. Also, it will fix all the electricity problems, just like changing the names of decrepit little towns fixed the raw sewerage running down the streets, repaired the potholes  and re-built the broken down water treatment plants.    

[geomark]

[Fruity]

How to prepare for a total Eskom blackout

https://mybroadband.co.za/news/energy/295548-how-to-prepare-for-a-total-eskom-blackout.html?fbclid=IwAR0CMwcYfJYTvxx5F1YhGmkr3GvHdJaxC-HAT9rdMP9m9utrRSRc8gw5H-Q

[Shebeen]

Aunty Pat of the now Gud4nutin party f**ked up the Tourism industry last year with her Day Zero k*k....now this..lekka g*tvol now..????

 

yes and no, because it ain't just black and white.

 

Day Zero was a very effective tool to get people to reduce water consumption

and they did! It was a scare tactic for sure, day zero was when we had 10% of water in the dams, the usable level was closer to 7%. In reality when if hit 13% okes would be k@kking off big time and short rationing already. In the end we hit 20% as a low point in apr 2017 and again apr 2018. At the time there was still 200 000 Ml of water in the dams (AKA a megasheetload).

 

If you thought that the CoCT were going to run out of water and the taps would run dry, the scare tactic worked. You have to remember that it is impossible to have a single message to a city of 4million diverse people and please everyone. Sure the tourist blowback was massive collateral damage to this campaign, this could definitely have been handled better. even local tourists didn't want to come to CT during december because they thought the taps would be dry and they couldn't even do laundry. but that's the price you pay to get okes to let their grass die.

 

my assessment, Day Zero total scare tactic marketing tool, that was effective, AND you should be glad that so many people bought into it. I think it will be hailed internationally as a most effective consumer reduction campaign, and best thing is a lot of the reductions will have a lasting effect even when the dams hit 100% and overflowing. It was actually tannie helen who came up with it in May 2017, and see how our water usage dropped in that winter. while this is not only due to DZ, the effect was profound

 

 

 

ok, so what does this have to do with loadshedding?

EVERYTHING

There is just no similar thought process that gets people to reduce their electricity usage. If we all used less, there'd be more to go around in this time of crisis.

 

Geysers are a simple one to illustrate the point, no one's geyser should be on during peak times in loadshedding. If the entire country could take cold showers we could potentially avoid loadshedding altogether* . it's summer now, who needs hot water on demand anyway? I just imagine all the geysers coming online en masse everytime a suburb comes out of loadshedding, heating water we don't really need right then.

 

Imagine if we said, loadshedding crisis level 4. All business people go to work in slops and t-shirt as we can't afford to run everyone's aircons, but at least your IT system will be up for longer periods? It's that sort of thinking that got capetonians to put old bathwater into their toilet cisterns that helped prevent the taps from running dry. We need it now in electricity usage.

 

 

*this is total thumbsuck, I don't (or nersa/eskom/doe for that matter) know what the actual figures are of geyser usage, it used to be about 30% of household power. The other obvious point is that in sunny south africa we should all have solar geysers anyway, big opportunity in 2008 not taken there.

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

Eskom needs to be put under business rescue, and it needs to be done ASAP.

The CEO says it will take 3 months to do a full audit, we don't have time to wait anymore.

I think the day the lights go out and don't come back on, are very near and it is scary!!!!!!

[pista]

Stage 4 loadshedding implemented from 1pm today.

If it stays at stage 4 you can expect to lose power roughly three times a day for 2.5 hours each time.

Time for candle light dinners and braai time then

[Shebeen]

Eskom needs to be put under business rescue, and it needs to be done ASAP.

The CEO says it will take 3 months to do a full audit, we don't have time to wait anymore.

I think the day the lights go out and don't come back on, are very near and it is scary!!!!!!

Business rescue, what would that achieve? Eskom is a utility, not a business - you can't just parachute a Christo Wiese in and everything will be hunky dory tomorrow. You're probably one of the guys who bemoans that they ask their consumers to use less of their product.

 

big issues, big problems. Get the right guys to sort it out for sure.

unfirtunately loadshedding is the consumer doing their bit to help, sucks but that's the way it is. If you want to help, use less power.

 

Big utility power has always been a political animal, that's not changing anytime soon. 

Cyril's announcement of the unbundling into 3 divisions is a great move.

 

great except that it's been delayed by a good few of those "wasted 9 years" as Zoombie was working out how to suck more out of it.

https://www.fin24.com/Economy/ANCs-decision-to-bury-electricity-bill-disturbing-expert-20150202

[Capricorn]

yes and no, because it ain't just black and white.

 

Day Zero was a very effective tool to get people to reduce water consumption

and they did! It was a scare tactic for sure, day zero was when we had 10% of water in the dams, the usable level was closer to 7%. In reality when if hit 13% okes would be k@kking off big time and short rationing already. In the end we hit 20% as a low point in apr 2017 and again apr 2018. At the time there was still 200 000 Ml of water in the dams (AKA a megasheetload).

 

If you thought that the CoCT were going to run out of water and the taps would run dry, the scare tactic worked. You have to remember that it is impossible to have a single message to a city of 4million diverse people and please everyone. Sure the tourist blowback was massive collateral damage to this campaign, this could definitely have been handled better. even local tourists didn't want to come to CT during december because they thought the taps would be dry and they couldn't even do laundry. but that's the price you pay to get okes to let their grass die.

 

my assessment, Day Zero total scare tactic marketing tool, that was effective, AND you should be glad that so many people bought into it. I think it will be hailed internationally as a most effective consumer reduction campaign, and best thing is a lot of the reductions will have a lasting effect even when the dams hit 100% and overflowing. It was actually tannie helen who came up with it in May 2017, and see how our water usage dropped in that winter. while this is not only due to DZ, the effect was profound

 

dzeromay17.png

 

 

ok, so what does this have to do with loadshedding?

EVERYTHING

There is just no similar thought process that gets people to reduce their electricity usage. If we all used less, there'd be more to go around in this time of crisis.

 

Geysers are a simple one to illustrate the point, no one's geyser should be on during peak times in loadshedding. If the entire country could take cold showers we could potentially avoid loadshedding altogether* . it's summer now, who needs hot water on demand anyway? I just imagine all the geysers coming online en masse everytime a suburb comes out of loadshedding, heating water we don't really need right then.

 

Imagine if we said, loadshedding crisis level 4. All business people go to work in slops and t-shirt as we can't afford to run everyone's aircons, but at least your IT system will be up for longer periods? It's that sort of thinking that got capetonians to put old bathwater into their toilet cisterns that helped prevent the taps from running dry. We need it now in electricity usage.

 

 

*this is total thumbsuck, I don't (or nersa/eskom/doe for that matter) know what the actual figures are of geyser usage, it used to be about 30% of household power. The other obvious point is that in sunny south africa we should all have solar geysers anyway, big opportunity in 2008 not taken there.

TL:DR version: put aside personal demands for the greater good. Works every time, and you won't be impoverished. Yet they say world hunger cannot be solved. ya nee sure.

[pista]

Eskom needs to be put under business rescue, and it needs to be done ASAP.

 

The Unions won't allow it to happen.They also won't allow retrenchments.

[Capricorn]

Eskom needs to be put under business rescue, and it needs to be done ASAP.

The CEO says it will take 3 months to do a full audit, we don't have time to wait anymore.

I think the day the lights go out and don't come back on, are very near and it is scary!!!!!!

 

 

Business rescue, what would that achieve? Eskom is a utility, not a business - you can't just parachute a Christo Wiese in and everything will be hunky dory tomorrow. You're probably one of the guys who bemoans that they ask their consumers to use less of their product.

 

big issues, big problems. Get the right guys to sort it out for sure.

unfirtunately loadshedding is the consumer doing their bit to help, sucks but that's the way it is. If you want to help, use less power.

 

Big utility power has always been a political animal, that's not changing anytime soon. 

Cyril's announcement of the unbundling into 3 divisions is a great move.

 

great except that it's been delayed by a good few of those "wasted 9 years" as Zoombie was working out how to suck more out of it.

https://www.fin24.com/Economy/ANCs-decision-to-bury-electricity-bill-disturbing-expert-20150202

 

good reply there Juan.

But it has to be emphasized that even great ppl at Eskom won't pull the the company out of the current dilemma the industry refers to as the "utility death spiral.  Unbundling is a great way to highlight who of the three groups is the most cost effective, but of itself, it does not solve the fundamental problem:  south Africa's industrial base is too small. We need to use more energy, and more of the right energy.

So far, the government has done a great job of highlighting the issues within Eskom, and rightly so. That web of corruption and more importantly, INCOMPETENCE, that is stinking up the Eskom ranks, needs to be found and exorcised. But even when that is done, the problem of insufficient energy consumption by a large industrial base/work force, is still the elephant in the room.

Seems ironic to complain about insufficient energy use at a time of level 4 loadshedding. But we have to look past the immediate situation for a long term solution.

and what exactly did SONA2019 have to say about that, hmm?

[Shebeen]

good reply there Juan.

But it has to be emphasized that even great ppl at Eskom won't pull the the company out of the current dilemma the industry refers to as the "utility death spiral.  Unbundling is a great way to highlight who of the three groups is the most cost effective, but of itself, it does not solve the fundamental problem:  south Africa's industrial base is too small. We need to use more energy, and more of the right energy.

So far, the government has done a great job of highlighting the issues within Eskom, and rightly so. That web of corruption and more importantly, INCOMPETENCE, that is stinking up the Eskom ranks, needs to be found and exorcised. But even when that is done, the problem of insufficient energy consumption by a large industrial base/work force, is still the elephant in the room.

Seems ironic to complain about insufficient energy use at a time of level 4 loadshedding. But we have to look past the immediate situation for a long term solution.

and what exactly did SONA2019 have to say about that, hmm?

 

yessirree, the utility death spiral is real, ask telkom about cellphones messing up their party.

This would have happened 2 years ago if JZ hadn't overseen years of stagnant growth. Loadshedding has only really been delayed by a slow economy.

 

long term,

stop using power as a form of tax

charge for what it is worth on an open market.

introduce time of use tariffs, so you can charge what it costs to make.

 

but ja easier said than done. As my first boss used to tell me about engineering in Mzansi:

Politics

Economics

Technology

 

in that order

[Eddy Gordo]

Yet eskom can still afford to pay  exorbitant bonuses every year. It makes no sense at all.

Here last year we never received bonuses cause the business did not do well at all! Things are looking bleak for the end of the year as well.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Yet eskom can still afford to pay  exorbitant bonuses every year. It makes no sense at all.

Here last year we never received bonuses cause the business did not do well at all! Things are looking bleak for the end of the year as well.

Well, no - that's the point. They can't, yet they do. To the top brass, at least. 

[DJR]

SA needs cheap and reliable electricity, lots of it, to allow for industrialization. Without that our manufacturing sector cannot expand and create jobs. Simple as that. Escom cannot supply that because of stupid decisions taken between 10 and 20 years ago. A new approach is needed. But what?