Posted on January 25, 2008 - by Justin Hartman
Load shedding? Live near a politician!
ESKOM CE Jacob Maroga has urged business not to rely on the government to find solutions to power shortages likely to persist until 2013, when the utility will have significantly expanded its generation capacity. – MyADSL
Day 16 of the rolling power outages and we’re all feeling the very serious impact this is having on our lives. Funny how the Eskom CE has made this statement because while we’re all sitting in the dark – sometimes three times a day – our politicians appear to be exempt from said load shedding.
One of my closest friends lives in Killarney and during this 16 day trauma she’s had to endure the grand total of zero blackouts. Seems a little odd as Killarney is one of the hardest hit areas for load shedding but the difference with her is that she lives in the same road as Thabo Mbeki and Trevor Manuel. Another friend lives near Jacob Zuma’s residence in Forrest Town and alas they’re also unaffected by this load shedding.
Once again it’s an us and them scenario and as long as JZ and crew remain unaffected by this power crisis we’ve got no hope of Government doing anything to resolve this issue.
22 Comments
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January 25, 2008
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The great Dep. President lives in Rivonia… It’s actually a sight to see when the lights go out… her street stays lit, her side of rivonia road has power and the shops closest to her stay open.
Phenomenal!!!
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January 25, 2008
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I’m just speechless really… Let them spend 20 grand on a generator like the rest of us…
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January 25, 2008
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It wouldn’t surprise me, however remember that older areas that do not have remote control transformers cannot be load shed. So for example, in Durban we have The Bluff which has not had a single blackout, because the municipality needs to upgrade the transformer control system.
There was an article on News24 about it, written by a guy from Eskom.
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January 25, 2008
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That’s an interesting point capdog however all of Killarney is out except this one street. Me thinks there is some funny business here
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January 25, 2008
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Dude, your 100% right.. I stay right next to Parliament in CT… not one power outage in the 3 weeks of load shedding so far!
@readers – Pissed? Go to http://www.powerloss.co.za
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January 25, 2008
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Strangely enough, I have heard exactly the same about family of friends of ours that stay near the US Embassy in Pretoria – seems that area [which is quite highly populated by embassies] has been exempt from the feeling of powerlessness we all endure far too often these days.
I’m not too sure if this is attributable to older technology that needs to be replaced, or whether its merely an attempt at maintaining diplomatic peace [thereby concealing from the rest of the world how bad the situation really is].
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January 25, 2008
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[...] Since no-one really pays attention to what I write here, take a look at Justin’s post [...]
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January 25, 2008
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It looks like it is a trend. Our offices and my home are in Bruma, and few street away (like 1 block) lives our Safety Minister. I must say that we do get load sharing, but it is not as bad as in my daughters area (East Rand Mall) …
Maybe … he is getting out of favour? ….
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January 25, 2008
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On another point. As an engineer and with loads of friends at Eskom I have been told by most of them the following:
1. There are no real “technical” grounds for the loadsharing (I.e. risk of a blowup) … which some goverment officials are using as the real issue.
2. Proper planning would result in less trauma for the country. (But most of the planners were retrenched in 95)
3. SA is still sending power to Zimbabwe and other neighboring countries.
4. Mocambique … has enough spare capacity to address our needs from Cabora Bassa built with Portuguese Tax Payers money … wonder why Eskom is not making use of this?
5. The REAL ISSUE = POWER PLAY FOR MORE MONEY FROM GOV by holding the country at ranson
Maybe it is about time for the country to fire the entire board of Eskom?
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January 25, 2008
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Justin: I’ve heard rumours that an area of Durban has been without power cuts due to the mother of a senior political figure living in the area ;( Something really needs to be done about nepotism in this country.
Laurinda: before spreading more bullshit, why don’t you learn about the history here, because you clearly haven’t been following it for the past 9 years.
a. Eskom’s planning indicated as far back as 1998 that their capacity would hold until 2007. Here’s a reference (incidentally on the Cabora Bassa issue): http://www.btimes.co.za/99/0530/news/news06.htm
b. Government’s white paper on energy policy in 1998 warned of supply shortages in 2007. Here’s a reference: http://www.gsb.uct.ac.za/newsletter/v2/Story.asp?intArticleID=1337
The rest of that article is worth reading too.
c. If you didn’t read the rest of the article: in 2001 government prohibited eskom from infrastructure development, intending to unbundle eskom and/or encourage private investment. Further government delays held back any planning for extending generation capacity until 2005.
d. Cabora Bassa supplies 950MW to SA. Its total capacity is 2075MW. We are – today – 4000MW short _after_ the 950MW from CB.
e. We suspended power sales to neighbouring countries earlier this week. We are STILL 4000MW short.
f. The only responsibility eskom bears in this situation is failure to adequately maintain certain infrastructure. We are 4000MW short because of 5000MW of _unplanned_ outages.
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January 26, 2008
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Twylite – Maybe you must get all of your Eskoms facts …
1. the report that you refer to was compiled in Eskon during the FY 97/98
Retrenchments run from +- 1995 to 1999 … and you are correct about enough capacity being available until 2007. But if you read the complete report (not the edited one) you would find that of the recommendations provided, some of it related to adequate continuation of maintenance programmes which would have extended capacity to 2009/2010 … and Eskom had the funding for it
2. The real problem is not just the fact that the energy regulator and parliment failed to act and provide more funding. … privatisation drives, et …al
One of the major problems arises out of the fact that many “Maintenance Contractors” were replaced by unskilled or insufficiently qualified contractors.
In addition, the “Free-for-all” and corrupt relationships between some contractors and some commercial managers / power station personnel also has had a role to play. I.e. Such as some contractors being paid for work not delivered. Lack of preventative maintenance … although Eskom spent its budgets on some so called “maintenance projects” which were mainly of a short-term rather than long-term
It is also interesting that currently Eskom is on a mjor recruitment drive, and is in fact recruiting previous employees (retrenched between 95 and 99) at an amasing rate and pay and that they have widened the “Supply net” to include previous suppliers (although some of the smaller ones lost their business in the interim).
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January 26, 2008
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Regarding suspension of sales by Eskom to neiboring coutries … do you believe their PR?
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January 26, 2008
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I don’t want to jinx things, but I am convinced some Eskom bigshot stays in my area because we have had a total of ONE power cut – from 1am to 3am one night.
For your interest, I was send this article from the Mail and Guardian today
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=330574&area=/insight/insight__economy__business
Energy crisis? What energy crisis?
Jocelyn Newmarch and Kevin Davie | Johannesburg, South Africa
25 January 2008
South Africa has plenty of energy available. The problem is, we don’t have enough power
Some of the country’s biggest businesses have been queuing up to sell power to Eskom. The potential power on the table — all 5 000MW of it — is almost equivalent to two Koeberg-sized nuclear power stations.
To put this into context, the rolling load-shedding that has been causing so much distress to so many results from power shortages of about 3 000MW.
If you scratch the energy sector, speaking to players large and small, a picture emerges of any number of players who are keen to supply energy to Eskom from sources as diverse as hydro, diesel generators, biogas, biomass, wood and solar.
The problem, they say, is that monopolist Eskom is prepared to pay only half of what it charges for electricity.
Investors say they also need certainty. They could build capacity now at relatively high cost only to find Eskom refusing to purchase their power when the crisis eases.
These alternative sources are generally more costly than coal-fired power, but many are kinder to the environment. Another advantage is that it would be relatively quick to construct the necessary infrastructure, unlike the 10 years it takes to construct a large power station.
Much of this alternative electricity is being produced anyway, as part of industrial processes as diverse as sewage processing, sugar refining and paper-making.
It appears that much of this electricity could have been fed into the national grid by now, but this has been held up by red tape, price disputes and reluctance to sign on new providers.
Large projects involving hundreds of megawatts of electricity are under discussion. Paper giant Sappi, for instance, is keen to build 150 megawatts of capacity to supply its own needs and that of the grid. Sappi’s electricity is produced as part of the paper-making process.
There is also scope for relatively small-scale renewable energy projects to make a dramatic contribution to the grid. Government has been working on an approach intended to encourage small users of clean energy to supply the grid. As is the case in a host of countries internationally, suppliers of green energy are paid a special feed-in tariff (FIT) to encourage the development of new, cleaner forms of energy.
One source says about 5 000MW could be generated through the use of FITs.
There were hopes that a new dispensation to encourage FIT’s would be announced early this year and that it would contribute towards diversifying energy supply from Eskom’s clutches but, the source says, the process remains in a muddle somewhere between the regulator and Eskom head office, with signs that the provision of renewable energy may also be controlled and monopolised by Eskom.
Legally, electricity producers may only sell to Eskom or to municipalities distributing electricity.
The relatively large projects under discussion are known as co-Âgeneration. This power comes from a range of sources. Tongaat-Hulett and Illovo produce electricity from sugar bagasse, for example, while four of Sappi’s eight mills produce electricity. Methane can be collected from sewerage works, and small businesses can run diesel generators. Pooling all of these sources could potentially save the cost of a new power station.
Even Massmart produces electricity, with Makro stores in the Western Cape running generators for their stores even when Eskom power is available. This reduces demand on the national grid and helps avoid load-shedding, and Eskom subsidises the company for this. Massmart CEO Grant Pattison told I-Net Bridge that he would like all Makro stores to run generators in this way.
Sappi spokesperson Andre Oberholzer said the company will produce more than 50% of its own energy requirements at its mills, following an expansion project in the middle of the year. “The co-gen process has been frustrating and has taken a very long time. In fact, we would have been ready to implement some projects had the co-gen process already been finalised,†he said.
Co-generation has been discussed for the past few years, with little progress. The sticking point until now has been the price. Although much secrecy surrounds the proposed pricing for co-generated power, the price has been based on the avoided cost to Eskom of generating coal-fired electricity. Because Eskom produced the cheapest electricity in the world, and had not invested in new stations until now, there was not much scope for private sector production, said Frost analyst Cornelis van der Waal.
But steep increases have been granted for this year and Eskom is making new investments. “The 14,2% increase in electricity tariffs is moving in the right direction,†he said, explaining that the higher prices made co-generation more viable for companies. “We’ve seen that a lot of people are willing to pay extra for electricity, especially industry. There is a need for increased electricity prices,†said Van der Waal.
But electricity regulator Thembani Bukula of Nersa says that prices agreed on for co-generation would also take into account the cost of production. The tariff Eskom is allowed to charge its consumers also includes a “reasonable returnâ€, which is currently 8%, but Bukula says co-generators would be granted a higher return. At present, he said, the price of co-generation “does not look prohibitiveâ€. FITs, which are associated with renewable energy, are still under discussion.
Bianca Belinska, from Nersa, confirmed that the regulator is considering Eskom’s proposal whereby 50% of the renewable energy required by the country would be supplied by Eskom, and the remaining 50% would be bought from independent producers by Eskom. South Africa needs to source 10 000 gigawatt hours of electricity from renewable sources by 2013. Currently, this is being modelled on a mix of wind and concentrated solar power, she said. She said discussions were continuing between government, the regulator and Eskom on these issues and all proposals were being considered.
But Bukula said Eskom’s proposal had not yet been formally presented to the regulator. He expected Eskom to present its proposal as part of the public participation process for the regulator’s assessment of FITs.
Electricity from co-generation projects could be added to the national grid in 2009, said Bukula, and Eskom is expecting to tie up agreements by June. So far, just one agreement has been signed, with Sasol.
Co-generation agreements could be bad news for Amatola Green Power, which buys excess electricity from the sugar companies, adds this energy to the national pool, and then sells it to clients. Amatola supplies electricity from renewable energy and has a temporary licence which it hopes will be formalised soon. If a co-generation agreement is signed with Tongaat-Hulett and Illovo, Amatola may be competing with Eskom to buy up the electricity.
The example of Kerala, India, offers an even quicker solution, according to businesswoman Sally Hall. She said Kerala’s equivalent of the Industrial Development Corporation had offered financing to hundreds of households and small businesses to buy diesel generators, which steadily fed power back to the national grid with a maximum output of 10kW in peak time. No tenders had been put out, but the Kerala state electricity board had advertised the rate it was prepared to pay for power. The generators were paid back over five years, while the return offered was better than a bank deposit and included a 30% profit. The programme was rolled out in three months, Hall said.
An incentive programme for solar water heaters could significantly reduce demand, as the equivalent of a large power station (2 000MW) is used to provide hot water to the domestic sector alone. Once the effects of co-generation, renewable power and reduced demand through solar heaters are pooled, there should be no power crisis.
Energy crisis What energy crisis Mail & Guardian Online
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January 26, 2008
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Thanks to all of the above for the interesting comments. It gives a good inside perspective of what is going on in the country, espescially for us working with overseas clients and doing bookings for them to come to SA. I am an Senior Inbound Tour Consultant and have to keep my clients informed. We have to choose our suppliers i.e hotels etc very carefully as to where our clients will recieve the best service and where load-shedding does not affect their visit. Please keep up the good work. Kind Regards, Carmen.
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January 27, 2008
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@Twylite & @Laurinda – I can’t vouch for any of the facts you guys have presented here as I simply don’t have the experience to but what I will say is this.
In 2003 a college I worked with had a friend who was top management at Eskom. He informed her that Eskom had a very serious problem and if our capacity grew this country would be in serious problems. He also said they ship so much power to neighbouring countries and this was part of the issue for capacity in SA.
Now I believe that Eskom are hiding behind the fact that they reported this crisis to government as early as 1998 and in truth I think they just never bothered to do much about it. This was fueled by Government rejecting an upgrade plan to infrastructure and now it’s simply easier to shift the blame to the gov. than to take responsibility.
R54 million in bonuses paid to Eskom exec’s over the last 3 years – for what?
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January 27, 2008
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Justin
Your friend was quite correct.
Three major factors are contributing to this situation:
1. Supply to neignboring countries
2. Unscrupulous conractors
3. The fact that Eskom is wasiting a tremendous amount of money including paying R54M to execs
Just those three points above would have reduced the crisis. Coupled with above is the fact that our own consuption is increasing at an alarming rate. But then there are alternatives which Eskom and goverment are not considering, in fact because of “Regulation” … after all ESKOM has the monopoly on energy … which has caused alternatives to be on holt or progressing very slowly.
This is a much more complex issue … and Eskom execs are definetelly not telling the whole story. “They forget that by pointing a finger at goverment there are another 4 poiting back at them)
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January 28, 2008
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You guys have all the luck.You can complain about load shedding.In the township where I grew up, there is no eletricity for some and no paved roads.There was once a drive to get the roads paved.When the money came, the only streets that got the tar were the streets leading from the councillor’s house to the council office.This is how far it has got upto today.
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January 28, 2008
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Kingster
Yep, you are right. When I visit some out of the way villages, it is heart breaking to see some of the conditions that people are forced to live in whilst a large portion of leaders live in luxary, and some in the same villages.
The wold is upside down … greed and thrist for power being the dominating factor in society and with a large number of polititians and busiiness leaders.
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February 22, 2008
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hi, i wonder if anybody can help me….
im a uct art student and im trying to find info on where exactly these ‘exempt’ politicians live in cape town and how often (or not) they get power cuts.
if anyone can offer assistence….greatly appreciated!
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March 4, 2008
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The Powergroup has been called into life to invite as many as possible people, companies, entities to join hands to bring a united action against Eskom / Government. An action of this multitude will have similarities to the United States version of a class action, but will be based on a dilict and not the enforcement of an infringement of a right in the Bill of Rights. Although indirectly some of our rights in the Bill of Rights has been infringed due to power shedding this will not be the basis to bring the action against Eskom / Government, but the infringements could form part of the particulars of claim
It is now time to act. http://www.powergroup.org.za
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March 18, 2008
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Power Shedding
Power Shedding is back, at least in Gauteng. I’m not sure what is happening in the rest of the country but I presume it happening everywhere. I’ve listened to the traffic reports this morning, spoke to some people and received a lot of report of inconvenience and disruptions.
We called the Powergroup into life during January this year in the mist of Load Shedding. Shortly thereafter Load Shedding stopped and everybody was happy again. This weeks Load Shedding according to Eskom is due to ‘n sudden demand of Electricity due to the cold weather. This of course is just ‘n forerunner in the small for the winter on hands. What’s happening now will just repeat on a much bigger scale in the winter to come. In the mean time at least 4 of Eskom generators are out of commission. This just reflects back to the reports brought out by http://www.forensies.com which indicated a lack of planning and maintenance on the whole Electricity grit.
In the mean time Eskom shifts the blame to the consumer. They show their teeth and indicate if we do not use less power we will feel their grunt. I agree, we must use less electricity to get through this crisis, but we must also demand heads to roll of people who are the authors of this crisis and replace them with competent people who does not only do the talk, but also do the walk. If one’s look at Eskom’s financial statements it is clear on their own account that they are the only authors of the electricity crisis.
Million of people had billions of damages due to mismanagement of Eskom and it is time to claim back that was taken away en pressurize Eskom and Government to implement a plan of action and not just talk about it.
I spoke to a lot op people who indicated that what will it help to take on a giant like Eskom. There is a duty on everyone of us to act now. If we do not act we will give Eskom and the Government the green light to proceed with mismanagement. Just look at our roads, look at our municipalities, look at the state of our rivers, and look at the state of service in government organizations. Government organizations are kept alive by business that is forced to do the work of Government officials if business wants to keep the economy alive. I see at the Masters Office, Magistrate Courts, and Municipality Offices. How long will we tolerate this?
I’ve been criticized that I am using emotions and religion to make profit out of an unfortunate crisis in the country. I’ve been criticized that I am busy with touting. I believe that God uses people to bring change about. This means that God will use people to turn our country back to the country it is supposed to be. I am willing to stand up and make a difference. Are you?
If everyone runs away from the problems in our beautiful South Africa with all of its opportunities, I will stil be here because I believe in this country. I know what God has in store for this Country and I know that I’ve got a purpose in this country, do you?
I the mean time Eskom bosses cant wait for the 31 of March 2008 due in 13 days when they will receive an huge bonus of more than R10 Million for allowing this Electricity crises and all we can do is complain, criticize en point fingers but doing nothing, I repeat nothing at all. When will we wake up? When will we put our money where our mouth is?
Powergroup is waiting in anticipation for South Africans and anybody who wants to make a difference in this beautiful country. Powergroup with their experts http://www.forensies.com are already in the position to prove in court that Eskom was negligent in managing electricity in South Africa. According to their own financial statements there is more than enough money available to build more power stations and to pay out damages to people who have been hit hard by this crisis. This has been so for the last 10 years. If we do not act, where will we be in 10 years?
If we unite and stand together we will be the Giant who can force Eskom and Government to act now and we can be through this crisis before we know it. Thereafter we as citizens wil be able to force municipalities and governmental institutions to perform the duties and restore our country to the state it is supposed to be.
Riaan Oosthuysen
http://www.powergroup.org.za
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May 29, 2010
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the mean time Eskom bosses cant wait for the 31 of March 2008 due in 13 days when they will receive an huge bonus of more than R10 Million for allowing this Electricity crises and all we can do is complain, criticize en point fingers but doing nothing, I repeat nothing at all. When will we wake up? When will we put our money where our mouth is?