A long, cold Winter. Thanks Eskom!
This year it seems as tho we are in for a long, cold winter – courtesy of Eskom!
We are in summer now when electric usage is generally lower than in winter (think kettles, geysers, electric blankets and heaters). But we are now informed by Eskom that we should prepare for more blackouts in the future because they can’t keep up with the electricity demand. Read about it here
Why hasn’t Eskom prepared for this contingency? After all as our country develops, it is going to demand more power. Part of their excuse is that several power units were shut down unexpectedly, and that others were shut for planned maintenance. Most civilized countries have preparations in this regard – but not us!
Are we going to end up like Zimbabwe where Harare only has 4 hours of power per day? I certainly hope not, but if current trends continue – well maybe …
With the government failing us more frequently, how can we help ourselves? Here are 5 simple things you can do to help save power:
1) Buy lower wattage light bulbs, or the new ‘power saver’ types.
2) Switch of lights when you are not in a room
3) Don’t run unnecessary electrical appliances 24/7 (air-conditioners, geysers and swimming pool pumps)
4) Consider double-glazing your windows to conserve heat / cold
5) Consider putting your geyser on a timer
Until Eskom gets their act together, perhaps by hiring better managers, it is up to us to help ourselves. Less power in your home means a saving for you and also a power saving for the country. If enough people do this, then maybe the power outages will decrease.
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February 2nd, 2007 at 8:57 am
You would think that with the high Unemployment rate, that SA would start a project to build an additional Power Plant. I heard somewhere (Think that it was on the Radio) that in order to keep up with future demand, South Africa would need to build a new Power station every 3 - 4 years.
I wonder if the government has even thought about the fact that the 2010 is around the corner. Can you imagine the embarrassment if during a game there is a power failure ?
I also do think that there is alot of wastage in SA. The other day I walked into a meeting and noticed that the air-cons were on and the windows were OPEN ???? I was in shock.
April 17th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Koeberg was dismantled (at a high cost) wasn’t it?.
The Electricity utility could be manipulated from outside and from inside .
With the melt-down happening in the world economy, there may be more managed (read manipulated) aspect to all that’s happening in this country.
Gold maybe still a cornerstone of the global economy. If the mines don’t produce they become easy targets for takeover.
We should be careful to protect the industry.
Should somebody look more closely at this?? In the long term picture this could be an interesting shift in the global industry.